A Demon's Forest
by Meiousei Dark
Summary: According to local lore, The Demon's Forest is a haunted place, ruled by a demon with glowing red eyes. Alois decides to drag his friends Ciel, Lizzie, and Sieglinde along for the ride one Halloween night. After they catch the demon's eye, one of them is kidnapped, and doomed to have his soul eaten. Trick-or-Treating with Forest Spirits will also help a lot in the long run.
1. Definitely A Good Idea

~Definitely A Good Idea~

Ciel stood near the forest entrance mumbling to himself, chastising himself for agreeing to have anything to do with this. It was Halloween night, the one night a year where candy was attainable for free.

Ciel had grown out of the holiday long ago, but his cousin, Elizabeth, had forced him to dress up for the occasion. He was wearing a blue suit, because he had been told that blue was definitely his color, and a blue pirate hat, accompanied with his eye patch, which he wore often after an incident a long time ago. And three years later, here he was, waiting for his friends, who had yet to show up.

Unbeknownst to Ciel, a shadow was slowly making it's way over to him. With a devious smile, the shadow shook Ciel by his shoulders. "Boo!"

Ciel's blood suddenly ran cold and he let out a loud scream. "GYAAAAA!"

Ciel turned around, only to face a laughing blonde boy, wearing a royal outfit with a king's cape and crown. "Alois! What was that!? You almost gave me a bloody heart attack!"

The boy, Alois, wasn't able to stop laughing. "The look on your face was absolutely priceless!"

Ciel was boiling with fury, but he was able to calm himself down.

"Anyways," Alois began after his laughing fit ended. "Are you ready to go inside," He paused for emphasis. "The Demon's Forest?"

Ciel gave him a deadpan look. "Do I look like I'm ready?"

Alois nudged Ciel in his shoulder. "Come on, have some fun for once. You know, legend has it that the forest is ruled by a demon, and on Halloween, many ghosts and monsters dwell inside."

Ciel blinked and sighed. "Yes, I am aware of the legend. Isn't that why we're spending the night here in the first place? Besides, we can't start without the girls."

"Were you talking about us?"

Ciel and Alois turned to see two girls heading towards them. One was a blonde with curly ponytails on both sides, wearing a pink princess costume, and the other had black hair and was wearing a long, black gown, with a witch hat on her head.

"Lizzie, Sieglinde, you missed it. I snuck up on Ciel and made him scream like a little girl!"

Ciel became furious again. "Hey! Don't go spreading that around!"

"Aww, but Ciel, you look so cute when you're scared. I can't believe I missed it." The blond, Lizzie, complained.

"I think it would have been funny to see you scared." Sieglinde commented.

"Believe me, it was." Ciel just sent a cold stare Alois's way, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Are you ready to head inside?" Alois asked the girls.

"Uh, I'm not sure. It looks kind of scary in there." Lizzie said.

Ciel then grabbed her by the hand. "It will be all right Lizzie, I'll protect you."

She looked into his eyes. "Do you mean it?"

He gave her a smile that he rarely ever gave anyone. "I'll protect you without fail."

The blonde girl suddenly smiled huge. "Oh Ciel, you're so brave! And so cute in that costume!" She yelled as she hugged her cousin like a Boa Constrictor would.

"Y-Yes, that I am."

"Alright you two, you can have your little love tryst latter. Now, we march!" Alois yelled as he picked up a kingly staff and pointed it forward towards the forest.

The merry group went forward, being lead by their semi-tyrannical king. They had to admit that it didn't really look like anything special. It only looked like an average forest. Well, as average as a forest could look at night on Halloween.

"So are you all scared yet?" Alois asked in a low voice to amp up the drama.

Ciel merely rolled his eyes. "It's a forest. There is nothing here to be scared of."

Alois chuckled lowly. "If you say so."

Sieglinde scoffed. "Honestly though, this place isn't all that scary. I'm an actual witch, so any forest monsters should be scared of me." She commented as she pointed to herself.

Sieglinde is the daughter of the famous Emerald Witch, known all throughout Germany. She came to England to explore the world, and she made three new friends as well. And now, about a year later, they were going with another one of Alois's ideas, which would likely end in disaster. Alois was an Earl and heir to the Trancy Earldom. He first met Ciel, heir to the Phantomhive Earldom, many years ago at a party that their fathers took them to, and they immediately became best friends. Then, one day, Ciel's parents were murdered and a fire was left behind to cover the trail. Ciel had never been the same since then.

Alois tried everything he could to bring him back to his old self, but no matter how hard he tried, it just wouldn't happen. That was one of the reasons for this little escapade. Alois was determined to get Ciel to have some fun, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

A sort of clanking noise was heard along the ground, and soon, Ciel turned to look at the girls. "What is that noise?" He asked.

"Maybe it's ...a ghost." Alois answered.

Ciel rolled his eyes. "Oh, sorry, that's my fault." Lizzie said.

She lifted the clanking object to where it was in everyone's sight. "You brought a sword with you?" Alois asked.

Lizzie put the sword back down. "I didn't know what we might face out here, so I brought it with me. Just in case."

Alois scoffed. "We're not here to fight monsters, we're here to have some fun."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying that I believe in any of this, but if monsters were to attack us, I would find a sword rather useful."

Lizzie smiled. "Oh Ciel, you always know just what to say!"

Alois suddenly stepped in front of everyone and stopped the group from moving any further. "Let's have some fun tonight. It doesn't matter if monsters live here or not. We can do anything here."

"But it's so dark and I don't think any of us thought to bring flashlights." Sieglinde added.

Alois scoffed. "Where's the fun in flashlights? It's much scarier to walk in the dark, especially on Halloween night."

Since they had first started, there was something that had been weighing on Ciel's mind, and he figured that now was the perfect time to ask. "So, the legend has it, that every Halloween, ghosts and monsters come from the spirit world and inhabit the forest. If they only show up on Halloween, then what goes on in this forest the rest of the year?"

Alois had to stop and think about that one. "I'm not sure, I don't think anyone ever says anything about it. However, the legend derived from an incident that happened years ago. A group of children wandered in here, and when they came back out, they kept telling tales of monsters and demons, and told how a demon ruled the place. Ever since then, it's reputation stuck, making it a fabulous tourist trap for clueless children, like us."

Ciel shot him a glare. "This was all your idea, you know!"

Alois shrugged it off. "I know that. Ciel, why won't you even try and have any fun?"

"He does have a point. You never seem to have any fun anymore." Lizzie commented.

Ciel only sighed. "Fine, let's do something fun tonight. We're out here, so we might as well."

"That's the spirit, Ciel!" Alois encouraged as he put an arm around his best friend's shoulder.

"And just so you know, I'm only doing this to get you off my back."

"Well, I won't, not unless you are having some real fun. Understood?"

Ciel only sighed. "Yes, of course."

As annoying as Alois could be sometimes, Ciel had to admit that he was really persistent and he didn't give up easily. That was something he admired him for. Alois just cared about the wellbeing of his friend. That was all.

The girls had also taken a liking to Alois and figured that it was nice to have a troublemaker in the group. It made their lives interesting this way. "Although, I have no idea what we could possibly do here if we can't see anything."

"We just need to be creative. There are tons of things we can do here if you think hard about it."

The four of them took an opportunity to look around, and no one could see anything except trees and darkness. "There isn't exactly a lot creativity to work with." Ciel commented.

"A-Alright, so maybe it is limited, but we just have to think outside of the box. And believe me, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's doing exactly that."

"Alright then, what can we do?"

Alois took another second to look around, then an idea came to him. "I have it. To think of things we can do in the dark, how about Sieglinde assists us with some sort of light spell?"

Ciel and Lizzie turned to the girl in question. "I think I might be able to pull one off, but you all have to stand back."

The three of them immediately complied and stepped out of the way, behind some trees. Sieglinde took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She started chanting a spell underneath her breath, which the others couldn't hear, since they were out of earshot. A small orb of light appeared between her hands and it only grew bigger as the spell grew louder. Finally, it reached it's maximum size, so Sieglinde lifted it up into the air and released it, while shouting a few finishing words, possibly in German.

The orb exploded, and in an instant, light surrounded the area. The three of them came out from behind their hiding spaces and basked in the light that surrounded them. "Now this light should follow us wherever we go, if only for a little while."

"This is amazing Sieglinde. I never knew you were capable of creating such wonders." Lizzie commented.

"It's only temporary, but it should give us enough time to think of something we can do tonight."

"We can do anything, now that we can see. So what do you all want to do? Do you want to climb trees? Or maybe look around some more? Or even...Look for ghosts?" Alois lowered his voice at that last part for effect.

Ciel rolled his eyes. "And we're back to that."

"Oh, don't worry Ciel. If a monster does jump out at us, I can use my sword and Sieglinde can use her magic. Not to mention, Alois has his staff. He could use that as a weapon. You'll be just fine, Ciel."

Ciel only sighed, but nevertheless, smiled a little. "You're right."

"And besides, I have a good feeling about tonight. It's not everyday that we get to take risks like this."

Ciel had to admit that she was right. Being the head of an Earldom was hard work, and it was really rare that he got to do anything like this, especially with his friends. They were always busy, so Ciel had no idea if he would ever get to do anything like this again.

He wasn't dare going to mention it to Alois, but he felt like he could have some real fun tonight. It might have been the last, so he would have to enjoy it while it lasted. Ciel kept on walking with the group, wondering what was next on their night of fun.


	2. More Than Just A Legend

~More Than Just A Legend~

"You idiot! How could you possibly have gotten us lost?!"

Ciel wanted to have fun, but honestly, he couldn't bring himself to it, after finding out that Alois had no idea where they were going in the first place, or where the exit was. Sieglinde's spell had already worn off and she couldn't use another so soon after the first one.

"We were going to be staying the night anyway, so why should it matter?"

"Of course it bloody matters! If we can't get out of here if need be, then we just walked inside a death trap!"

Alois scoffed. "It's not like the legends are real. I just said all that to scare you."

"It doesn't matter if the legends are true! We're stuck here with nowhere to go!"

"Please stop all this yelling. It won't change that fact that we're lost." Elizabeth pointed out.

"She's right, you know. We have to keep our heads and think of a plan." Sieglinde added.

Ciel knew they had a point, so he calmed his fury and took a deep breath. "You're right. We can't be turning on each other."

"That's exactly right." Alois added. "If we stick together, we'll be just fine."

Ciel took another deep breath. "Alright, does anyone have any ideas on what we should do?"

Sieglinde was the first to speak. "I think that we should at least try and find somewhere to stay for the night. We could get better protection from the elements doing that."

Alois looked around. "I don't see how that's possible, considering the fact that there are nothing but trees here. Besides, we don't know what might be lurking around."

In response to that, Lizzie shuttered. "Please, let's not talk about all that."

Ciel nodded. "Agreed."

Three of them kept on walking, but Lizzie stayed behind. She started looking at their surroundings, and a sudden sense of dread came over her. It could have just been a trick her mind was playing on her, but she could have sworn that she saw something moving in the shadows and along the trees. She also saw what looked like eyes staring back at her. Her eyes widened and she gave out a tiny whimper.

"Lizzie, are you coming?" That got her attention, so she immediately nodded and went ahead to join the group.

* * *

The group of four kept walking, hoping to at least find some sort of shelter. It wasn't exactly easy, however, as there were only trees and darkness surrounding them. Lizzie couldn't help but clutch the handle of her sword, in fear of the off chance that something might actually jump out at them. She knew that she was probably being paranoid, but something in the back of her head was telling her that they were being watched.

"Uh...guys?" The other three in the group turned to acknowledge her.

"What is it, Lizzie?" Sieglinde asked.

Lizzie's grip on the handle tightened. "I-I know that this might sound crazy...b-but...do you think, that there might actually be ghosts and ghouls out here?"

Ciel made his way over to her. "It will be alright Elizabeth. Alois was only saying those things to get us into the Halloween spirit. There are no monsters and we will all be just fine."

As much as Lizzie loved when her cousin attempted to make her feel better like this, she just could not deny that her gut feeling was still there. "I don't know, but I just can't help but feel that we're being watched."

Sieglinde's eyes widened upon hearing this, then she shifted them to the ground. "Do you remember what I said when we first walked in here?"

Lizzie nodded. "Well, I want you to remember that, alright?"

Lizzie only sighed, then she nodded. "Yes, I understand."

The girl felt a bit of courage well up inside her, and she kept on walking with the group. This time, however, Sieglinde was the one to stay behind. She looked behind her, and she also noticed the moving shadows and the creepy eyes staring back at her. Sieglinde turned back to the group, who was walking ahead of her.

"Lizzie is right."

Ciel, Alois, and Elizabeth all turned back to face the girl with their attention set on her. "W-What?" Lizzie asked.

Sieglinde sighed and continued. "As much as I hate to say it, we really are being watched. Not by some mere animal, but by supernatural forces. My spiritual instincts tell me that is so."

"B-But that's impossible." Alois stuttered. "I didn't actually believe any of it."

Sieglinde shot Alois a glare. "Never underestimate the power of the supernatural. We have no idea what tricks may lie up their sleeve."

Alois felt a chill run down his spine while Lizzie only looked around frantically, clutching the handle of her sword. "D-Do you happen to know whether or not these spirits are malevolent?" She asked.

Sieglinde turned around and tried to guess the intent in the atmosphere with her abilities. "Let's see, I'm picking up some mischievous intent, but whether or not it is evil has yet to be determined."

Lizzie whimpered in fear while Alois shifted his eyes around the forest. "Alright everybody, that's enough." Ciel said, hoping to try and calm everyone down.

"I know that we're in a dark forest with supernatural energy around us, but if we are ever to get out of here, then we have to keep our heads. We cannot afford to fall apart now."

Lizzie, despite how scared she was in that moment, sucked up her courage. "Y-You're right. We have to stick together, especially in this situation."

Ciel smiled a little. Alois didn't take his eyes off of the forest. "W-What should we do now?"

"The only thing we can do. Keep going and try to find a way out of here." And so, the not-so-merry group of four kept moving onwards.

* * *

It was silent, and everybody was tense, looking side to side, making sure nothing jumped out at them. No one spoke, as they continued their journey. They were far too busy looking for an exit to utter even a single word. The more they looked at the trees, the more they saw shadows moving along them. Ciel didn't believe in ghosts before, but he sure did now. So much for that night of fun they had planned.

Ciel was wondering if they would ever get out of there, since there didn't seem to be any exits. If they ever did get out of there, then it would most definitely be a night to remember. They could just look back on this night and awkwardly laugh about it. Or they could vow never to speak of it again. Sieglinde was trying her hardest to read the atmosphere, but she was still a witch in training, so she couldn't read it too well. Alois wasn't playing the part of the fearless king very well, as he kept shifting his head from side to side.

 _"What foolish children. Don't they know how dangerous this forest is on Halloween?"_

The group of four stopped in their tracks upon hearing the voice. They frantically looked around, but there was no one in sight.

 _"On the bright side, at least we'll have some trick-or-treaters this year."_

"That's true, but they honestly shouldn't be out this late. If they were my children, they would be receiving a stern talking to."

"I myself would love to have a child."

"Yes, we all know that."

"Where are all these voices coming from?" Ciel asked.

 _"That darned demon always scares everyone away, so we never get any trick-or-treaters. It's a real shame."_

"True, Halloween is the one day of the year when I actually fit in, Heh, Heh, Heh."

"I've got it, let's give them the best trick-or-treating experience they've ever had. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

And when all that strangeness was said and done, the group of voices stopped talking and the feeling that the group was being watched dissipated. The group of friends only blinked.

"What in blazes was that?" Alois asked.

"I-I don't know...but what did they mean by 'best trick-or-treating experience?'" Lizzie asked.

Ciel only sighed. "I don't know, but I do know one thing for sure. This night is far from over."

It was finally Alois's turn to confess something. "Look everyone, I had no idea that these forest creatures actually existed. I just wanted something that we could all do for Halloween."

Ciel nodded. "We know that. We were just as clueless as you were."

Alois sighed. "What are we going to do now? How are we supposed to leave?"

Ciel closed his eyes and sighed, then opened them and spoke. "I feel there is only one thing we can do. I can't believe I'm saying this. I know we've probably outgrown this already, but to get out, we have to go trick-or-treating."

The three of them only blinked. "That...actually doesn't sound too bad. I mean, just be happy that we don't have to face this demon head on." Sieglinde said.

Lizzie had to think about this for a second. "Actually, trick-or-treating sounds kind of fun. I remember doing it a long time ago with Ciel and Alois. This would be out first time with Sieglinde. Also, trick-or-treating in a dark forest and receiving candy from ghosts seems like the perfect Halloween experience."

Alois pointed his staff towards the sky. "Alright, our fearless group has been reunited once again! Tonight, we travel these woods collecting candy, and we will settle for nothing less than the best night of our lives! Understood!?"

Lizzie and Sieglinde both smiled and saluted. "Yes sir!"

Ciel didn't salute, but instead he gave off a little smile, which he shielded from view. "Alright everyone! Now, we march!"

"Um, Alois, where exactly are we going?" Sieglinde asked.

Alois stopped walking as soon as the realization hit him. There were many different directions in which they could travel, but Alois wasn't sure which direction would be correct, if any of them were. "Uh, maybe we should go that way." He said, pointing left.

The group really had no better idea, so they just blindly followed the king into the darkness. They had absolutely no idea what they might find out here, or who they might meet. They didn't know what kind of residents this forest had, but judging by their earlier conversation, they didn't seem to be very fond of the forest demon. The fact that there were forest creatures here had to mean that the demon existed. They were all sincerely hoping that they wouldn't have to face it on their quest.

The demon, however, only seemed to add to the thrill of this escapade. Trick-or-treating in a dark forest on Halloween night was scary, but having someone stalking you the entire time added to the Halloween experience. In a way, it was like running from the authorities. It was exciting enough to create an adrenaline rush, and they figured that they could use some excitement in their lives. It might help their courage and confidence boosters.

They were imagining creatures all over the forest, waiting for them to show up and receive candy. They could only imagine what it was like in this forest, waiting for others to come by, but they never do. Where they got candy in the first place, the group of friends would probably never know. They would have answers to all of their questions in due time, however.


	3. The Snake Charmer

~The Snake Charmer~

The merry group of trick-or-treaters was having the time of their lives. They hadn't yet reached their first stop, but they would soon, and they were basking in their own fearless glory. Right now, there was absolutely nothing that would be able to tear them apart.

"That way is the right way! I'm sure of it!" Alois argued.

"All you've been doing is getting us lost! We're going that way!" Ciel countered.

"That way is wrong! My way will help us reach civilization!"

"Which way is civilization, because I know it isn't that way!"

As much as Ciel and Alois were friends, they still continued to fight, and the girls were usually the ones who had to sit back and watch, and it always annoyed them. Lizzie had enough politeness in her to hide her annoyance, however, Sieglinde was quite the opposite. She would tolerate it for a little while, but one she got really tired of it, she intervened. Luckily for the boys, she wasn't at that point yet. The key word being yet. She rolled her eyes to herself and turned to Lizzie.

"What do you want to do while these idiots are arguing?"

Lizzie shifted her eyes back to the arguing boys and then shifted them to Sieglinde. "What I really want to do is make it to our first stop. The night is still young, so we really should be getting things done."

Sieglinde only sighed, realizing that they would have to stop the boys from fighting for that to happen. "Which way do you think we should go?"

Lizzie looked around at the two paths that they could chose from. One on the left and the other on the right. "Well, they both seem like equal choices. Maybe we should just take one. What do you think?"

Sieglinde examined the two paths. "We should probably take the path that will lead us to our first stop. I'll see if I can sense anything up ahead."

The young witch casually walked past the arguing boys who didn't seem to notice her, and started examining the paths in search for their first stop. The path on the right, the one Ciel was arguing for, didn't seem to have anything strange along it, but the path on the left, the one Alois was arguing for, had some sort of strange presence that Sieglinde was able to pick up immediately. "We should go that way."

Those very words were what stopped the great war of the best friends. "What?" They both asked in unison.

"That path has a spiritual presence. Of course we have to take it."

Alois gave Ciel one of his signature 'I told you so' smirks. Ciel only scoffed. Now that all the fighting was over, the group of four made their way down the path. "So Sieglinde, what exactly did you sense down this path?" Lizzie asked.

"I'm not sure. The energy was mischievous, but not at all malevolent. It was also very playful and curious."

Lizzie smiled. "Oh? Well then, I can't wait to meet them."

The moon hadn't even reached it's high point in the sky, meaning that the night was still young and the group of friends still had a lot of trick-or-treating left to do. They had heard on the news that tonight was supposed to be the night of a blood moon, which would make the night seem even scarier. The blood moon was only one of the things that had inspired Alois to bring them all there. It was supposed to be a night of fun and a night of ghouls and ghosts.

Halloween was, after all, the day of the year when spirits were supposed to leave their world and walk the Earth. It had originated centuries ago. Legend had it, that people would leave treats on their porches for the spirits, but if no treats were given, the spirits would play a trick on those who lived inside the house. They now realized that there was actually truth to that legend, except they weren't sure about that last part.

The spirits of this forest hadn't seemed like the type to play tricks. In fact, they were the ones giving out the treats. Then again, they hadn't met any of them yet, so they really couldn't know for sure. According to the news, the lunar eclipse wouldn't happen till midnight. They hadn't yet reached their destination, since it seemed to be farther away than they had first thought.

"Are you guys excited for the lunar eclipse tonight?" Alois asked, trying to start a conversation.

"What are the odds that a lunar eclipse would end up happening on the one day of the year when it looks the most appropriate?" Sieglinde wondered.

"Apparently, one hundred percent." Alois answered.

"The lunar eclipse isn't our biggest problem right now, you know."

"I know, but I really think that we should talk about something else."

Lizzie thought to herself. "Let's see, I think the last lunar eclipse we had was six months ago. It's been awhile."

Alois nodded. "Yes, and it's especially perfect for tonight."

"Hang on a second. I'm sensing a presence. We're coming closer to our first stop of the night." Sieglinde pointed out.

The other three looked around. "Where is it?" Lizzie asked.

"Right up ahead. Just keep going a little further." They really couldn't see anything, but still, they complied and went on ahead.

Once they had supposedly reached their destination, they stopped and looked around. "It's supposed to be around here somewhere." Sieglinde said.

Ciel didn't notice as a snake appeared behind him from a nearby tree. It hissed in his ear, and he let out a scream. "GYYYAAAA!"

He jumped and turned around, to find a coral snake hanging from a tree. As the group observed the scene, they could make out the shape of a figure in the shadows. It seemed to be a person with fair blonde hair and skin that seemed to be that of a snake. There were a couple of snakes around his shoulders and there were others hanging from the tree. One of the snakes, the coral snake from before, stuck her head out. The person in the shadows spoke with a high voice.

"Hello, my name is Emily, and the one translating for us is Snake. He is the only one who can speak to us. What are you children doing out in these woods on Halloween night? Asks Emily."

Three of them were speechless, except for one very curious young witch. "Oh my gosh! You can speak to snakes!? That is so cool!"

Another snake, one with a green scaled pattern, slid out into the light. The person, Snake, changed from a high octave to another accent entirely. "Why of course he can. He is half snake after all. Now, I'll bet that you kids already know that the only way outa' here is to get enough candy, ain't that right? Asks Oscar."

Ciel nodded. "Y-Yes, we are already aware of that."

Another snake, this one larger with a brown pattern, slid into the light. Snake stopped using the accent and spoke in a deeper octave. "You must be careful. This forest is can be especially dangerous. I'm sure you've already heard of the forest demon. Says Wordsworth."

Lizzie nodded and spoke. "Well, yes, we have heard of it. We were hoping that we could avoid it."

Emily was the next one to speak. "Don't worry dear children. We wouldn't even think of telling the demon of your presence. We're not very fond of him anyway. He always scares away the trick-or-treaters, so we usually don't get any. Says Emily."

Oscar sighed. "We look forward to it every year. We've got more candy than we know what to do with and it all goes to waste. Says Oscar."

"If there are more of you spirits roaming around the forest and only one demon, then why don't you all just rise up against him? He would be outnumbered." Ciel pointed out.

Another snake, a pure white one, peaked it's head out of the darkness. "He's too powerful. We would never last. We would be grounded into submission and be forced to flee. And we really like it here. Says Keats."

Another snake with a golden scale pattern was next to speak. "If I could, I would take that demon by the neck and squeeze the power out of him. Says Webster."

"It seems this demon is unwanted by you forest spirits." Alois observed.

Emily sighed. "He is a tyrant who only cares about the souls of his victims. He will only let us have trick-or-treaters if we allow him to claim their souls. Says Emily."

Upon hearing those words, Lizzie shuddered with fear. "Oh, I am sorry child, I did not mean to frighten you. We would never give you away to the demon. In fact, we will do everything we can to make sure that the demon does not get to you. Says Emily."

Lizzie had to assume that if one of the most feared species of reptile on the planet was on her side, then very little could go wrong. That must have been one of the benefits of being a snake charmer. A snake with white scales and orange spots spoke up next.

"What kind of forest spirits would we be if we couldn't protect trick-or-treaters? Says Bronte."

Lizzie sucked up her courage and nodded. "Alright then."

Lizzie was starting to feel more confident about continuing on this escapade, knowing that all of the spirits had a common enemy and that they wouldn't let anyone fall victim of said enemy.

"Y'all had better hurry before the blood moon, because that's when-" Snake, voicing Oscar, didn't finish the sentence.

"When what?" Alois asked.

"N-Never mind, y'all don't need to be worryin' about it. Says Oscar."

The entire group could tell that Snake was withholding something, but they didn't think that it was necessary to ask what it was. "Now children, what are the magic words? Asks Emily."

The four of them shouted in unison. "Trick-or-Treat!"

All of a sudden, something occurred to Ciel. "Wait a second, we don't even have bags to put the candy in."

Alois smirked. "Not to worry, I brought some just in case."

He started passing pillowcases around, and soon, everyone had something to carry candy in. They each held out their bags while the snakes started handing out candy, one piece at a time. After the passing out was finished, the snakes all gave their fond farewells.

"Goodbye dear children, and remember to have fun! Says Emily."

"See y'all later! Says Oscar."

"Be careful of the dangerous monsters! Says Webster."

"Don't stray too far from the path! Says Bronte."

"Make sure to get more candy! Says Wordsworth."

After all the goodbyes were said and done and the group of friends had walked off, Snake sighed. That was the first time that he and his snakes have had trick-or-treaters in years. It was always fun, but they always had their souls stolen by the demon in the end, and Snake was sincerily wishing that the same fate wouldn't befall them.

They had lost too many trick-or-treaters already. True, there were some who came back out, but they were never the same. Snake wanted to avoid that this time. He wondered what it would be like if the demon just left the forest and left them all at peace. It was because of him that the forest had developed such a reputation. As Snake stared in the direction the group left, lost in his thoughts, he could only sigh. "Stay safe."


	4. Werewolf

~Werewolf~

When they had entered the forest, the sun had already disappeared, so they were guessing that the time was around eight. The moon happened to be full that night, which only helped with the eeriness of the adventure. They had to keep in mind, however, that the forest could be very dangerous, but luckily they hadn't run into anything like that, at least not yet.

The group for four had also realized that the forest was larger than they had first thought, so they figured that it would be alright to walk in any direction, because forest spirits could likely be anywhere. "So, what kind of creatures do you think we might find here?" Sieglinde asked.

Ciel only shrugged. "We could find anything here, really."

Lizzie thought. "It's possible that we might meet some traditional Halloween figures here, like Vampires or Werewolves."

"Or maybe a Grim Reaper, or zombies." Alois added, also wondering what might lurk inside the forest.

"Maybe I might meet another witch." Sieglinde added.

Ciel nodded. "That's possible."

Sieglinde hadn't met another witch in forever, and she was still on her lifelong journey to finally find one which she could share her common interests with. As the group was walking, Alois accidently tripped over something. Luckily he didn't trip all the way. "What the-" Alois picked up the object and observed it.

He couldn't really make out what it was in the dark, but it looked to be a bone of some sort, and it looked bigger than a normal bone should have been. "What is it?" Lizzie asked.

Alois blinked, observing it further. "I'm not sure, but it looks like some kind of bone."

Ciel took a look at the object in question. "That's probably most likely."

"But, if it is a bone, then what creature might it be from?" Lizzie asked.

"I have no idea, but I think we should keep it, to remember this night."

After that, it was settled. Alois was going to be carrying that bone all night long. However, as they were walking away, a pair of glowing red eyes was watching them, and a shadow started following them amongst the trees.

* * *

Alois had to admit that the bone was a bit heavy, but he was still determined to carry it through the night. It wasn't exactly what he would call back breaking, but it basically bordered it. "Do you need any help?" Sieglinde asked, noticing that he was struggling.

"Of course not. I'll be just fine." Alois had a habit of refusing an offer at first, but then after he realized he needed help, he would accept.

Sieglinde sighed. "If you say so."

All of a sudden, they could hear a sound in the distance. "Awooooo!"

The sounds of howling animals rang in the air. "Do you think that might have been a werewolf?" Lizzie asked, unsure.

Ciel sighed. "It could have been anything. Let's just keep moving."

The group agreed, and they were about to keep going, if it wasn't for a low growling coming from behind them. They all turned and their eyes widened as they saw two eyes glowing red and what appeared to be a scrunched up dog snout. "Just stand still and don't move." Sieglinde whispered to the group.

The beast slowly approached them, growling lowly. Seeing as the spirit wasn't going to leave them alone, Sieglinde decided to try something different. She cupped her hands together and a ball of light started forming between them. The ball of light kept getting bigger. "Geist Verschwinden!"

She released the ball of light and it hit the monster directly between the eyes, temporarily blinding it. "Everyone, run!" The group didn't hear as a little whimper escaped the wolf's mouth and he looked almost on the brink of tears. The wolf decided to chase after them, figuring that it would be good exercise. Besides, they were carrying his favorite toy with them.

* * *

The group of friends was in the middle of catching their breaths, assuming they had lost the wolf spirit. "Is it chasing us?" Lizzie asked, still catching her breath.

Ciel looked in the direction they came, while also catching his breath. "It doesn't seem like it. Maybe it stopped for good."

"I wouldn't be saying that just yet, but I think we're safe for now." Sieglinde said.

"Well, what are we going to do if it ever comes back?" Lizzie asked.

"That's easy," Sieglinde turned to Alois "Get rid of the bone."

Alois's eyes widened. "What do you mean get rid of the bone?"

"Obviously, that is what got it's attention in the first place. If you get rid of it, it likely won't chase us."

"B-But, this is a souvenir, so that we could remember tonight."

Ciel sighed. "I am sure that will happen one way or another, so just get rid of it."

"Hey, I'll be the one to carry it, so you all don't have to worry about a thing."

All he received were dark looks from Ciel and Sieglinde. "Either you get rid of that bone or I will." Ciel threatened.

Alois tensed. "How can you say that?"

"Do you want to get eaten by some wolf demon tonight?" Sieglinde asked, pointing in the direction from which they came.

"Of course not, but I need this bone, and I won't give it up."

"GET RID OF THE BONE!" Ciel and Sieglinde yelled in unison.

"You all shouldn't be yelling like that, you could attract the wolf to us." Lizzie pointed out.

Sieglinde sighed. "Alois, either you get rid of that bone or we're leaving you here in the middle of this forest."

"Y-You can possibly mean that."

"Well, it seems that all you care about is that stupid bone, and the rest of us don't want to get eaten, so make your choice."

Alois was unable to say anything further, due to a loud, ground shaking noise behind them. The wolf monster came charging after them, so Lizzie did the only thing that she thought would work. "Oh, give me that!" She said, taking the bone from Alois and throwing it at the wolf.

With success, the wolf caught the bone in it's mouth and started chewing on it, and the group decided to take this as an opportunity to flee.

* * *

Once they were sure that the wolf had left them alone, the group decided to continue on their normal journey. "But what if the bone didn't work?" Lizzie asked.

"Then we'll have to try something else, but it's highly unlikely that the wolf will come after us again, so we might not have to worry about it." Sieglinde answered.

Lizzie sighed. "That's a relief. I was afraid we would have no means to defend ourselves this time."

"Well you do have your sword." The young witch pointed out.

"Well, yes, that is true, but it's dark and this wolf is awfully big."

"Alright then, we'll improvise."

Unbeknownst to the group, the wolf was following them, except this time, he wasn't angry, he was following them curiously, wanting to know more about them. He too knew the fate of the trick-or-treaters of the forest and had no intent of scaring them. They had just taking his favorite bone, and now, he wanted to apologize to them. The team stopped in their tracks once more, not due to angry growling, but due to sad whimpering.

They turned around to see the wolf, giving them all curious looks. They froze for a second, but then they started to relax once they realized that the wolf wasn't there to harm them. "It's alright boy." Sieglinde cooed as she approached the wolf.

Lizzie clutched her sword and the three of them tensed, watching their friend approach the monster. The young witch was able to pet the wolf's muzzle and it immediately took a liking to her. "That's a good boy." She said as she continued to pet the giant white wolf.

It licked her face and she only laughed. The young witch noticed the color around it's neck, so she read the name off of it, with the help of the moonlight. "Pluto, huh?"

The other three figured that they could approach as well, so they slowly walked over and started petting the wolf. It licked Lizzie a few times and she couldn't help but smile, but when it tried to lick Ciel, he only batted it's tongue away. They all found that the wolf was rather peaceful. "So, I've been thinking. Maybe all this wolf wants is to give us candy." Lizzie said.

"How could a wolf possibly give us anything of the sort?" Ciel asked, in doubt.

"All we have to do is say the words." Lizzie pointed out.

Ciel only sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's give it a go everyone."

Alois, Lizzie, Sieglinde, and Ciel all stood together. "Trick-or-Treat!"

The wolf suddenly started to change. It was shrinking and it only kept shrinking until it's form changed completely. The wolf now had the appearance of a human and he had long, white hair up to his shoulders and white ears. "Arf! Arf!"

Despite his human appearance, he still acted a lot like a dog. From seemingly out of nowhere, Pluto pulled out some candy and handed it out to them. "Thank you very much Pluto." Sieglinde said.

Lizzie nodded. "Yes, thank you Pluto. You've been a very good boy."

The happy dog-turned-human looked at Ciel and Alois. "Oh, uh, yes, good boy, Pluto." Alois said as he petted him on the head.

"Yes, we couldn't have done anything without you." Ciel said when it was his turn to speak.

"We all have to go now, but we hope to see you again sometime!"

Pluto gave out a sad look as he watched them leave, and since he didn't want his newfound friends going anywhere without him, he followed. He knew how dangerous the forest could get with the demon around, and he didn't want anything bad happening to the group of friends. Although, the fact that he was following them was quite obvious as he kept making noises such as panting and stepping on branches.

"Um, Pluto, we need to go alone now." Lizzie tried to explain.

Pluto didn't want to leave them alone, however. "We know that we're the first trick-or-treaters that this forest has had in a while, but we can handle it, so you don't have to worry."

Pluto only whimpered in a sad manner, giving them all the puppy dog eyes. "I'm sorry boy, but you can't come with us. We don't want you in danger, boy. Do you understand?"

Pluto only whimpered and started walking off in the opposite direction. He really didn't want to leave them all so soon, especially since they were the first in a long while that were actually nice to him. None of the previous trick-or-treaters usually ever figured it out, and it made him sad. He loved Halloween just as much as every other creature in this forest. He sincerely hoped that nothing would happen to them on their journey, because he would never want to forgive himself.

It was a terrible existence watching the demon take everyone's souls, and him being able to do nothing about it. He wanted to at least stay close to them and keep an eye on them, but he had no idea how to do so when they didn't want him guarding them constantly. Pluto figured that they would be wishing for assistance, should the need for it ever arrive. But since he was sent off into the woods alone, he would just have to find other means of protecting these trick-or-treaters.


	5. Strange Triplets

~Strange Triplets~

"Let's see, there should be another stop around here somewhere." Sieglinde could sense another spirit nearby.

After they had managed to get rid of Pluto, the group of friends had moved on, only to arrive at another stop soon after. "If my senses are correct, the next stop should be right...here."

The young witch realized that she was now facing what seemed to be a man with purple hair and a stoic expression. The rest of the group turned to the location she was talking about, and approached the young man. "Hello, I'm Thompson. Happy Halloween."

The four of them only blinked, but nevertheless, said the magic words. "Trick-or-Treat!"

Thompson was handing out the candy, and within a few moments, the group was already saying their goodbyes. "Well, that was easy. I thought there would be a catch with this one." Ciel commented, noticing how easy the last one was to deal with.

"You tend to overthink things, Ciel. Things aren't always complicated." Alois said.

The boy dressed as a pirate only sighed. "I guess you're right."

"Hey guys, I sense another signature. We should be at our next stop in a few minutes." Sieglinde pointed out.

Lizzie decided to ask a question that she had been wanting to ask for a while now. "So Ciel, are you having fun?"

The boy in question only sighed. "It doesn't matter."

That answer only caused Lizzie's smile to disappear. "But Ciel, of course it does. Why would you say something like that?"

"Because having fun is not our biggest priority right now. Getting out of this forest and escaping the demon is what we need to be focusing on."

Alois stepped in. "You know, she has a point. You never even try to have fun anymore. Honestly, it's a bit sad."

Ciel snapped. "Do you all not realize that our lives are at stake here!? What about the dangerous monsters that the snakes warned us about!? What about Pluto?! He could have killed us!"

"But he didn't! He turned out to be a nice wolf who was just as lonely as everyone else in this forest!" Lizzie countered.

Ciel cooled his temper down and sighed. "Survival should be what we're after, so I don't understand how you could all be so calm about this."

Alois sighed, and Lizzie only wanted to make him feel better. Alois noticed this, as he knew she only wanted to help. "It will be alright." He told her.

She smiled a little, and they continued on their journey.

* * *

"The next stop should be around here somewhere." Sieglinde pointed out as they kept moving.

"Who do you think it might be this time?" Lizzie asked, trying to start a conversation to pass the time.

"I'm not sure. My senses never tell me the type of creature we're about to face. However, this one seems very familiar for some reason."

The four went on, until they arrived at their next stop. They were all surprised to find the exact same person from the last stop. "Hello, I'm Timber. Happy Halloween."

The group of friends only blinked in confusion. "Wait a second, weren't you the same spirit we went to moments ago? And didn't you say your name was Thompson?"

The person shook his head. "No. I'm Timber. Happy Halloween." That was the only answer he gave.

That didn't stop the group's confusion. "Um, alright then."

The four of them stood together. "Trick-or-Treat!"

Timber started passing out the candy until he had passed out enough, and the group had given their last goodbyes. "Alright, that was strange." Alois admitted.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sieglinde added.

"We should have known that there would be a catch. This forest is strange enough, and everyone here is obviously not who they seem." Ciel said.

"Do you really think that it might have been the same person?" Lizzie asked.

"Who knows. They could be anything, really." Ciel answered.

Sieglinde looked up at the sky and saw that the moon was not even at the halfway point. "What time do you think it is?" She asked everyone.

Alois only shrugged. "No idea. We'll be here till dawn anyway, so the time really doesn't matter."

"I'd much prefer if we would leave before dawn." Ciel muttered.

Lizzie looked up at the moon in the sky and a sudden feeling of worry overtook her. "Um, do you remember that conversation with Snake?" She asked the group.

Sieglinde answered. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, I was just thinking about what was said...about the Blood Moon."

The rest of the group suddenly remembered that part of the conversation, where Snake, speaking for Oscar, told them that something was going to happen, and it had something to do with the Blood Moon, but he never told them what it was. They hadn't really thought much of it at the time, but now they were all sincerely hoping that it didn't come back to bite them.

With the moon's position in the sky, they figured that midnight wouldn't come for a while, so they had time to get plenty of trick-or-treating done before then. There were still places to go and forest spirits to meet.

* * *

Sieglinde had sensed another source and the group was already pursuing it. They had stopped at a location that looked exactly the same as everywhere else in the forest, and they pretty much couldn't tell where they were, because it was too dark to do so. "Psst. Over here."

The four of them followed the sound of the voice, only to find another of the exact same person from the two stops before. "Hello. I'm Canterbury. Happy Halloween."

Ciel felt his eye twitch a little. "Are you kidding me?! You are obviously the same person from the last two places we visited!"

"No. I'm Canterbury. Happy Halloween."

This was frustrating Ciel to no end. He knew that the denizens of this forest were strange, but this was just ridiculous. If they really were the same person, then why didn't they just hand out candy all together? This forest was driving Ciel mad. The other three, however, were more accepting, and worried less about what they were and only focused on the fact that they all had a common enemy. That, and they were handing out candy.

"I apologize for the rudeness of my friend here, he can have a bit of a temper sometimes. I also apologize in advance for any damage he does to the forest by burning it down with pure rage."

Ciel glared at his friend. "Don't go saying things like that!"

"Come on, let's all say it." Lizzie encouraged.

Ciel sighed and the group proceeded. "Trick-or-Treat!"

Canterbury handed out all the candy he had, and after that was done and over with, they left and said their goodbyes. Canterbury was about to turn and leave.

"Did you give them candy?"

He turned to the source of the voice and found two others who looked just like him, hiding behind a tree. "They just left." He told them.

The other two stepped out from behind the tree. "Should we contact her already?"

Canterbury turned and looked in the direction they left, then he turned back to his brothers. "Yeah, I think so."

"I think she should be at the Demon's Lake right now. Should I go contact her?" One of the brothers, Thompson, asked.

Canterbury nodded. "We will wait right here."

Thompson ran off, quicker than a bullet, into the night. Timber and Canterbury were looking off into the direction they left. "Do you think it will be different this time?" Timber asked.

Canterbury only shrugged. "How should I know? I hope so, though."

"I wonder what would happen if we could save these trick-or-treaters."

"We can't. It's out of out hands. The demon always grabs them in the end."

"So sad. So many innocent trick-or-treaters lost."

The two of them stared off into the distance a little while longer. All of a sudden, Thompson came back and landed on the ground, kicking up some dust. "I've contacted her. She will be here soon."

Canterbury and Timber decided to drag their other brother into the conversation. "Hey Thompson, do you think it will be different this year?"

Thompson blinked before he realized what they were talking about. He shook his head. "No, I don't. It never is."

The brothers only sighed. They looked forward to Halloween, like every other creature inside the forest, but the ending was always so tragic. No one would ever truly be saved in the end. They didn't even know why they continued to do this, when it only put more innocent trick-or-treaters in danger.

* * *

The moon was climbing in the sky and the fearless group of trick-or-treaters was at it again. Ciel had sincerely hoped that they wouldn't be seeing any more of those triplets, and he was really hoping that there weren't any more of them. He did promise himself that he would at least try to have fun, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't understand how the rest of the group wasn't breaking down, because inside his own mind at least, he definitely was.

"Ugh, speak of the devil."

Those very same triplets were standing right in front of them, blocking their path. "Stop! You can't go any further!" They shouted in unison.

"What in this bloody forest are you doing!?" Ciel demanded.

His temper fuse had gotten a lot shorter since three stops ago. "You can't go any further, children, because there is someone you're forgetting about."

The group turned around to face the source of the new voice. Standing in front of them, was a tall woman with long, pale lavender hair that went down to her knees and purple lipstick, with a black rose in her hair. Her eyes were glowing bright red, which told the group of friends everything they needed to know. She was a demon.

"A-Are you the forest demon?" Lizzie asked, clutching her sword handle.

"No, of course not. Me and my trio are only minor demons. We could not face him on our own."

Lizzie started to relax and she let go of the handle. "Hannah Annafellows is my name, and the reason I have stopped you all, is because I too, haven't had trick-or-treaters in ages."

A smile formed on Lizzie's face. "Oh? Well we can fix that."

The group all spoke in unison. "Trick-or-Treat!"

Hannah had to think for a second. "Mmm, alright, you can have your candy."

She passed the candy out into each pillow case. "But just keep in mind that not all of the spirits in this forest will settle for a mere 'trick-or-treat'. They might have you do other things in order to get candy."

"Alright, we'll remember that. Thanks, Miss Annafellows." Sieglinde said.

"And remember to be careful. Most of the spirits may not be so malevolent, but there are some who are. Beware of them, and don't let your guard down, no matter what."

The triplets cleared their path, and after that, they were on their way. The demon triplets joined Hannah at her side. "What do we do now?" One of them asked.

Hannah sighed. "Now, we wait."

The night was still far from over, but the longer they stayed, the more chances they had of becoming demon prey. True, they were all demons, but they were not allowed to eat souls that were in the forest demon's domain, or else they would receive severe punishment. None of them were sure that things would turn out different in the end.


	6. Princess Of Red

~Princess Of Red~

A new presence had been sensed and the group was already on it's trail, so imagine their surprise when they find a humongous stone tower right in the middle of the forest. It resembled the one from Rapunzel, as it only had one window at the very top. "What the-"

The group had known that the spirits were strange, but they had no idea that they were capable of building such structures. Anything was possible, they presumed. "Alright, so what are we supposed to do over here?" Ciel asked.

Sieglinde took a second to examine the tower. "I'm not sure. There doesn't seem to be anyone here."

"Well, maybe they're hiding up in the tower." Alois suggested.

The four of them looked up and waited to see if anyone would peak out of the window. When no one did, they were starting to wonder what they were doing there in the first place. "Maybe we have to go inside." Lizzie thought.

Alois stepped up to the tower. "Well, let's try it."

He was about to try climbing the tower. "HALT!"

Alois quickly backed away as some sort of sword was pointed at him, and he went back to the group. They could make out two people, both dressed up as knights. One of them had black, slicked back hair and was wearing black rimmed glasses with a stoic expression. The other had blonde hair with the same type of glasses, except he seemed more laid back than the other knight. The one with the stoic expression adjusted his glasses.

"We are the Silver Knights in charge of guarding the Princess of Red. No one is to free, eherm, _her_ while we're here."

The group looked up to find a person with long red, spiky hair and glasses peaking out of the window, wearing a red dress and a golden princess tiara. "Has my prince finally come for me?"

Once he, judging by the Knight implying that she wasn't really female, looked down at the group of four, his smile turned into a grimace. "Ugh, it's just a bunch of kids. I was hoping for a handsome prince."

Ciel only rolled his eyes. "Alright then, if you don't want us to rescue you, then we'll all just leave!" He yelled.

He turned to the rest of the group. "Come on, let's go."

The rest of them followed. "W-W-Wait! Don't go anywhere! I-If you rescue me, you can have all the candy you want! We have lots of it!"

Ciel turned around and smirked. "Alright, we're listening."

The stoic one pointed his sword, which actually turned out to be hedge clippers. "We will have none of that! We have strict orders from the Queen of Red to not let her out until she finishes her paperwork."

"But I don't wanna do my paperwork!"

The stoic Knight turned to him. "Too bad! It is your job as Reaper Princess to get it done on time, and yet you still slack off!"

Just then, something occurred to Alois. "Reapers? Wait a second, would you lot happen to be Grim Reapers?"

The laid back one nodded. "Yup. We're the Reaper Royal Guard, and we've been put in charge tonight."

Now, it was Ciel's turn to ask a question. "Who is this Queen of Red that put you in charge of this?"

"Oh, her? She's not a Reaper, but she is in charge of the Princess. She can be a pretty strict most of the time."

Ciel nodded. "Interesting. I would like to meet this Queen of Red."

"And why exactly would you want to do that?" The stoic Reaper asked.

"Well, if we want to make arrangements to let the Princess free, then wouldn't it be best to talk to the one who created this scenario in the first place?"

"The Queen isn't here right now, and she won't be back until later."

"But, there are trick-or-treaters in this forest for the first time in many years, I believe. Wouldn't it make sense that she would be here to greet us?"

Both Reaper Knights knew that Ciel spoke the truth, but the stoic one stood his ground. "It does not matter what her intentions are. She is not here, so there will be no negotiations."

"Oh William, you're so cruel!" The Princess shouted from the tower. "You are too Ronald, for taking his side!"

"Hey, I didn't even say anything!" The laid back one, Ronald, yelled.

Ciel sighed. "Right, anyway, do you have any specific idea of when she might get back?"

"Our Queen may come back whenever she pleases."

"Oh my dear rescuers, you are no handsome prince, but you are my only hope for freedom! Please rescue me from the tower, I beg of you!"

Ciel had a plan brewing. "I apologize, but we cannot do so! These knights have already informed us of the situation and we can advance no further! We are sorry to have taken up your time!"

The red headed princess only slumped down with his arms hanging out of the castle window. However, Ciel turned back to him and winked, and suddenly, a new surge of hope went through him. He was about to shriek with joy, when Ciel put a finger over his mouth, reminding the princess to keep quiet, or else ruin the plan.

* * *

"Alright everyone, we need to think of a plan to free him from the tower." Ciel said, ready to get the meeting started.

"I could use my magic as a distraction." Sieglinde pointed out.

"And for a simple escape, we could use my cape for the Princess to jump on." Alois suggested.

"Are you sure that will be alright? He could probably get injured like that." Lizzie said.

Alois only laughed. "This entire costume is made from the most durable fabrics, so the cape and the Princess will both be just fine."

Ciel nodded. "Alright, if we can get the Princess to jump and get away quickly, then we have our escape plan."

The group looked in the direction they came and then they advanced towards the tower.

* * *

The group peaked out of the bushes and saw the two Reaper Knights guarding the tower as they were supposed to, not detecting anything strange at all. In fact, the laid back one, Ronald, yawned a little. "Alright, let's go. Sieglinde, you're up. The rest of us will head around, towards the tower."

The young witch saluted. "You've got it."

Ciel, Alois, and Lizzie made their way around, while Sieglinde stayed behind. She took a deep breath in and out. She started chanting a magical incantation under her breath and it only got louder and louder. Meanwhile, as the Knights were doing their job, they could see a huge shadow slinking out from inside the darkness. It looked to be the shadow of some sort of cat.

"What is that?" Ronald asked, seeming surprised for once.

William scowled at the creature. "I don't know, but we have do drive it away!"

Ronald nodded. "Right!"

Just then, the shadow of a giant bird swiftly appeared behind Ronald. He turned and his expression turned to one of shock and surprise. "WHAT THE-"

He managed to duck in time as the bird was about to take him out with it's claws. The two Reapers stood back to back, ready to fight the shadows off. As this was going on, the other three in the group were sneaking around and saw what was happening. They could see the illusions as clearly as the Reapers could, but they knew that the were only illusions created by Sieglinde and they couldn't actually hurt anyone. They just had to hurry before the Reapers figured that out.

They hurried around to the front of the tower, carrying Alois's cape with them. Once they were in front, they held onto the cape and made it like a trampoline. "Psst, Princess!" Lizzie whisper yelled.

The red head appeared at the window and saw the fighting going on. He also saw that he could now escape, plain and simple. He smiled wide, revealing teeth sharpened to a point, and eagerly jumped, landing safely on the cape. They quietly dragged the princess into the forest so he wouldn't be spotted. They made their way over to where Sieglinde was and pulled her along with them.

As the Reaper Knights were fighting the shadows, they were a bit surprised to watch them all suddenly disappear. They looked around to see if there was anymore if them, but they couldn't find any. "That was...strange." Ronald commented.

"WHAT WAS THAT!"

The two Reaper Knights turned to see a woman giving them cold, hard stares. William tensed a little, but nevertheless, kept his stoic demeanor. "Those were shadows who attacked us, so we merely fended them off."

"FOOLS!" The woman yelled. "Those were not shadows! Those were illusions meant to keep you at bay while the Princess escaped!"

Both of the Knight's eyes widened, and they immediately got on their hands and knees and bowed. "We apologize, your majesty. We will find them right away."

She scoffed. "I guess I had better go with you to make sure that you don't mess this up."

The Reaper Knights stood. "Of course, my lady."

* * *

"I'm free! I'm free! I can't believe it! I'm free! I can do anything now!"

The group of friends watched as the newly freed Reaper Princess kept dancing around with joy. "Yes, you are free now. So, about that candy you promised us." Ciel pointed out.

The Reaper froze and then turned to them. "Oh, well, about that, you see, I only said all that so I could be freed. Well, goodbye."

He was about to turn around and leave, but Ciel grabbed some of his long red hair, preventing him from doing so. "Oh, I don't think so. You are not going anywhere without the candy you promised us. Of course we could just return you to your tower if you wish."

"N-N-No, please don't do that!" The princess then sighed. "The truth is, I don't have any candy. The Queen took it all so that I couldn't have trick-or-treaters this year."

Ciel sighed, realizing he had no other choice. He let the princess's hair go. "Alright, candy or not, you are free to go."

The Princess turned to him with a huge, glowing smile. "Do you mean it?"

Ciel sighed and nodded. "Oh yay! I can't wait to go everywhere and do everything!"

"Not so fast, Grell!"

The red headed princess in question's expression turned to one of shock. The same Reaper Knights from before were standing with a woman, who had bright red, short hair and red lipstick, accompanied by a red dress and a golden crown. They assumed that she must be the Queen of Red. However, something about this woman struck some chords inside of Lizzie. She couldn't explain it, but something about this woman felt, well, she couldn't find the word.

"The Princess of Red has important work that she needs to be doing, so you trick-or-treaters can't just come along and remove her from it!"

Ciel blinked. "You do know that the princess is not female, right?"

The princess, Grell, scowled. "How dare you!"

The Queen sighed. "That is not relevant. We only need her back at the tower."

"But Your Majesty, it's Halloween! This is the one night of the year when we all want to celebrate! If I miss just one year, I think I might as well DIE!"

"He does have a point, you know." Ciel pointed out.

After a minute of silence and thought, the Queen of Red finally gave in. "Oh all right, but tomorrow, it's back to work."

The princess cheered. "Oh thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Queen turned to the group and smiled. "As for you four, isn't there something you would like to say?"

"Trick-or-Treat!" They held out their pillows and the Queen of Red gave out the candy.

* * *

As the group was walking, Lizzie felt uneasy. Now that she had time to think about it, she realized why the woman made her feel as if there was something different about her. The woman looked familiar, like someone she had known before. "Um, hey everyone?"

That got the attention of the others. "What is it?" Sieglinde asked, still feeling a little light headed from the spell earlier.

"Um, that Queen of Red...did she look...familiar to any of you?"

"Why would she? We've never met her before." Alois noted.

"Yes well...it's just that she looks a lot like, uh...Madame Red."

As soon as the name was uttered, the rest of the group stood in silence. "...Come to think of it..." Ciel muttered.

"...She actually did look a lot like her." Alois finished.

"She did look a lot like those pictures you showed me." Sieglinde added.

Madame Red was Ciel and Lizzie's aunt, and Alois also thought of her as such. Sieglinde had never actually met her, but she had heard the story of what happened. Madame Red turned out to have been killing prostitutes, much like Jack the Ripper, a famous villain from the Victorian Era. She had gotten killed by her own accomplice after refusing to kill Ciel and Lizzie.

"D-Do you think that maybe...Maybe that was Madame Red?"

A chill went down Ciel's spine, but nevertheless, the held his ground. "Who knows? Let's just keep going."

And so the fearless group kept on traveling into the night.


	7. Being Watched By Spiders

~Being Watched By Spiders~

After the fiasco with Reaper Princess who wasn't actually female, the group continued, searching for their next stop. However, a feeling of uneasiness was setting over Lizzie. When they had first entered the forest, the entire group was feeling like they were being watched. However, it disappeared, and it never came back. But now, it was back, but only Lizzie seemed to feel it.

"Um, guys, I think we're being watched again."

Sieglinde took this an opportunity to look around. "I don't sense anything unusual. I don't sense anything at all, actually."

"But, I'm pretty sure that something is here, watching us."

"Lizzie, it is most likely just your imagination." Ciel said.

Lizzie, knowing she would probably never be able to convince them otherwise, only sighed, and the group moved along. Ever since their encounter with the Queen of Red, Lizzie had been so shaken and unsettled, because she looked so much like her dead aunt, who got killed in such a tragic way. She was starting to think that there was more to this forest than it was letting people think. Then again, she could have been wrong, and the similarities between the two could have just been a major coincidence.

It was all so unsettling and she didn't know what to think. She couldn't tell the rest of the group because they would only think that she was paranoid. Maybe she was, and that was the only explanation. In her defense, who wouldn't be paranoid in a forest like this one? It would have been enough to drive some people mad.

Just as she was passing by a tree, she could see eight red, glowing eyes staring at her. She yelped a little and caught the attention of the rest of the group. "What is it?" Alois asked.

They were able to see the glowing eyes as well. However, upon further inspection, it was revealed to the group that the creature was, in fact, a spider. "Relax Lizzie, it's just an average spider. It's not supernatural at all. Believe me, I would know."

Lizzie sighed. "Oh, alright."

After that, the group moved on. Little did they know however, that spider was of the supernatural sort.

* * *

After they had all left, the spider had purposely dropped to the ground, and once it did, it started to glow with a bright purple light, and it slowly transformed until it was in the form of a tall, handsome man in a tailcoat with spiky dark hair and glasses. The man looked in the direction the group left in with a stoic expression. "I have to report this to the Alpha Demon." He said to himself.

However, he was considering that the best option would be to observe them first, and then he would go to the demon long before the blood moon. The reason that the young witch could not sense his presence before was because he had a barrier around his soul, an trick that demons typically used to hide themselves. He couldn't release it right now, because then he would be discovered and the plan would be ruined.

"Fancy seeing you here, Claude."

The Spider Demon turned to see the same demon woman that the group had encountered earlier. "Hannah." Was all that he said as his greeting.

"Are you planning on taking these children to the demon?" She asked, a stoic expression on her face that rivaled his.

"Of course. All spirits of the forest must notify the demon if there are any new souls in the area. But you wouldn't do that, now would you?"

"There are only minor spirits in this forest. Leave them out of this."

"You are only a minor spirit as well."

Hannah nodded. "That I am, but you have no more power than I do. You are only a minor demon, nothing compared to the power and status of the Alpha Demon."

The demon, Claude, scoffed at this. He absolutely hated being reminded that he had no more power than the forest demon. "Be that as it may, I am still the Alpha Demon's right hand. He chose me to bring him souls, and that, I will do."

Hannah clicked her tongue. "You are pathetic. I pity the pour soul that has to take orders from that tyrant. Oh wait, it's you."

Claude gritted his teeth. "You had better watch what you say! You can be sent back to the spirit world for all eternity!"

"Don't get so defensive. Honestly, it's pathetic."

All of a sudden, the triplets appeared from the shadows. "My lady, it's time for us to move along now."

Hannah didn't turn around to acknowledge them, but instead she clicked her tongue at Claude. "Pathetic."

She then turned around and walked off into the darkness with the triplets, leaving Claude behind in the shadows.

* * *

The Spider Demon sped through the darkness, trying to catch up with the group of friends. Once he caught sight of them, he stopped at a nearby tree, and with a glowing light that they didn't seem to notice, Claude turned back into what seemed like an ordinary spider. He couldn't help but notice that the blonde female of the group kept looking back, feeling like she was being watched. Well, she was.

"Lizzie, are you coming?" One of them asked.

That got her attention, so she nodded and went ahead with the group. Little did that spider know, in that tree, he wasn't alone. A long snake slithered over to confront the spider, and this time, the snake didn't need a translator, because demons usually spoke fluent snake.

"Why would you give their souls away to the Alpha?" The coral snake, Emily, asked.

The spider glared. "You know why. No soul is to ever go without getting eaten by him."

Another snake appeared behind him. "Y'know, with this form yer in, we could swallow ya' whole."

Emily looked at the spider with devious intent. "That sounds like a great idea, Oscar."

The spider knew what was coming. Both snakes lunged at, but the spider swiftly evaded, shooting over to the next door tree like a bullet. The snakes decided to have a little fun with this, so they whiplashed themselves across and unleashed their jaws, ready to devour the spider whole. Without hesitation, the spider dropped to the ground and transformed back into a man.

"See if you can eat me now. You can't even inject enough poison that would be to kill me."

Oscar tilted his head to the side. "Aww, our dinner got away."

"It will be alright Oscar. We will kill him another time."

Claude adjusted his glasses. "Just try it." He then ran after the group like a bullet in the night.

* * *

The group of four kept on walking, hurrying off to their next stop. The night still had a while, before it ended, and midnight still had a while before it came. Claude had already transformed into a spider and was watching the group as they had stopped to take a break. "How do you think we should advance next? Should we go left or right?" Alois asked.

"You're the one leading. You decide." Ciel answered.

"Come on everyone, I know that I'm the king, but I can't make all the decisions by myself."

"Oh? What happened to you being all Mr. High and Mighty?"

"Don't go holding that over my head."

As the spider watched what was going on, he figured that he could observe them for a while. It would be easier with them sitting down than with him trying to catch up with them as they walked on ahead. Their break soon came to an end and it was back to trying to catch up with them. It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be, since he constantly had to switch forms.

As a spider, he couldn't get far, so he had to switch out and move from tree to tree. His Soul Barrier had a better chance of coming undone in his human form, so being a spider was his better option. However, something prevented him from continuing. A giant, snarling werewolf stood behind him. There was no way he could make a quick escape in this form.

The wolf clenched the spider in it's jaws. Then, a light came from inside the wolf's mouth, and Claude, in his human form, used all the strength he could to push it open. One he had an opening wide enough, he slipped out and quickly evaded the wolf, following the group, who's trail he had lost.

* * *

If Claude didn't have to deal with any more angry spirits, then he could quickly complete his mission without fail. He couldn't turn human too many more times, or else his Soul Barrier might break, and the witch of the group would be able to sense his presence and his cover would be blown. Whenever somebody new entered the forest, Claude always made sure to do enough research on them beforehand, so he would be able to know what he was dealing with.

Because he knew that the witch could sense spiritual presences, he had to prepare himself for it. However, since the blonde female, Lizzie he remembered, had noticed that someone was watching them from the shadows. However, she didn't have spiritual powers, so she couldn't sense him like the witch could. He was starting to wonder is his Soul Barrier was starting to break already. Either that, or it was just a gut feeling that she had.

Either way, she was aware that something was going on. He couldn't break his Soul Barrier, because that would only confirm her suspicions, and he couldn't have that. The Spider Demon still had plenty of time left to spy on them and observe them. He could point out their weaknesses and avoid their strengths if he needed to. He knew that Lizzie had a sword, so he could easily remember to avoid it, because in both human and spider forms, he was vulnerable to attack.

The only way he could avoid getting hurt was in his demon form, and transforming into that would definitely break his Soul Barrier. He exceled at speed and silence, hiding in the shadows like a ninja. In the past, he had been severely punished by the Alpha Demon because he had failed to collect all the souls. There were some that had gotten away, and that infuriated the forest demon. As much as Claude really hated to admit it, he was much stronger than him, and there was no way that he would ever win in a fight against him.

The simple fact infuriated Claude to no end, but still, he had to put up with it for the sake of the forest and himself. The forest spirits didn't like him at all, because he willingly fed souls to the demon, but they didn't realize that he was doing it, so the forest would be spared the demon's wrath. They didn't seem to care about what the demon would do to them, however.

Even so, Claude would continue to do this so that they would at least have trick-or-treaters to begin with. It wasn't necessarily something that he agreed with, and if he could change anything, he would have the Alpha Demon removed.

However, this was the situation that he, and the rest of the forest, were in, so this is what he would have to deal with. The souls of the trick-or-treaters would have to be delivered this year with absolutely no fail. He would have to take the souls of each and every one, in order to save the forest for another year.


	8. Help From Undertaker

~Help From Undertaker~

The group of four were making their way through the trees in the forest, and once they came upon some sort of clearing, they could see what looked to be a shop of some sort. It was decorated for Halloween, although the group had a feeling that it looked like that every day of the year. There was a sign hanging above the entrance that read 'Undertaker'. There was a sign on the front door that told the hours. From 12am to midnight, only on Halloween.

"Come on, let's go in." The four of them walked in, and the shop looked a lot darker than it did outside, at least out there, they had the moon, but inside, there was only a single lantern.

"I can't sense any presence in here." Sieglinde said.

There were coffins around the room, as was to be expected from a mortician, but they couldn't find the owner of the shop. All of a sudden, laughter filled the room, and no one could pinpoint the source of it. Just then, a coffin lid started to open, seemingly by itself.

"Why hello children, have you all come to try out the coffins I have made especially for you?"

A man with long, silver hair that covered his eyes peaked out of the coffin and saw the freaked out expressions that the trick-or-treaters were giving. It took a while before any of them were able to form words. "Are you the Undertaker?" Ciel asked.

The silver haired man stepped out of the coffin. "Well of course. That's what the sign says, doesn't it?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose it does."

Undertaker turned to the entire group. "Now I bet you're all here for candy is that right?"

Alois nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Well, before I give out any of it, I would like to tell you all about the history of my shop, here. You see, every year we have trick-or-treaters, and every year, the Alpha Demon always steals their souls. Since he has no need for the bodies, I always take them in and give them a proper burial. Most of the guests that I bring in are children about your age."

A chill went down Lizzie's spine. Suddenly, Undertaker looked as if he had forgotten something. "I don't know if anyone's told you lot this. Have you seen any spiders crawling around here?"

Their memory suddenly went back to when Lizzie found that spider and they all rode it off as ordinary. "Well, yes, we actually did see one." Lizzie answered.

Undertaker suddenly frowned. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"What's wrong?" Lizzie asked.

"That spider you saw most likely wasn't ordinary. What you saw was most likely the Spider Demon, Claude Faustus in disguise."

"Is he the forest demon?" Alois asked.

Undertaker shook his head. "No, but he is a direct line to the demon. Most spirits would want to protect trick-or-treaters, however, Claude is different. The Alpha Demon chose him to be the one to bring him trick-or-treaters, and now that he has his sights on you lot, your lives are most definitely in danger."

"B-But that's impossible! I would have known if he was watching us, because I would have sensed him."

Undertaker smiled. "Ah, you're the witch who can sense spiritual presences, isn't that right?"

Sieglinde nodded. "Yes, and I know that he wouldn't have possibly escaped my attention."

Undertaker smiled and shrugged. "You're right. There is no way that he ever could have hid his presence from you. Except of course, if he put a shield on his soul, disguising himself."

The young witch's eyes widened. "There's no way he could have done that."

"Oh, but he did. You see, whenever trick-or-treaters enter the forest, he does research on them beforehand by examining their souls so he can figure out what to avoid, and since you could sense his presence, he had to hide it."

Sieglinde didn't know what to say about that. "Anyway, since you all have caught his attention, he'll most likely report you to the demon, but I don't think he'd do it without observing you a little longer."

"Um, Mr. Undertaker, would you happen to know what's supposed to happen tonight at midnight?" Lizzie asked.

"Yes, midnight is when the blood moon appears."

"But, what does the blood moon have to do with anything?" Alois asked.

"Well, we typically wouldn't tell trick-or-treaters this, but I guess you all deserve to know the truth. The blood moon doesn't happen on Halloween to often, but when it does, the Alpha Demon partakes in something called the Feast of Souls, where the Alpha demon consumes one special soul to become stronger and obtain more power. Usually this special soul was twisted and tormented. None of you would happen to have any souls like that, would you?"

"How would we know something like that?" Ciel asked.

"Well, I suppose you're right, but you should still be careful. The Spider Demon has no more power than I, but he is still someone you should avoid. He is the one that brings me my guests, however."

Suddenly Undertaker stopped moving all together, and he froze. He then tilted his head to the side, revealing a golden-green eye and part of a scar. "Well, speak of the devil."

He shifted his attention back to the group. "One thing that neither Claude or the Alpha Demon knows is that my coffins are able to disguise the presence of anyone, and that is exactly where you four should be right now. Hurry and use the empty ones. Can't have you disturbing my guests in their sleep."

Undertaker quickly pointed out four empty coffins and the group of four quickly went inside, trying to ignore the fact that they were inside coffins located in a lunatic's store. "Don't come out until I tell you to." He whispered.

A few seconds later the door opened, and it was Claude who entered. "Hello Undertaker, there is something I need to discuss with you."

"Ah, yes, I haven't seen you in a year. Have you finally come over to try out the coffin I've made especially for you?"

Claude gave him a stoic look. "No, that's not why I'm here." He adjusted his glasses. "As the only spirit who doesn't long to kill me, I can only ask you. Have you seen this year's trick-or-treaters yet? I seem to have lost their signatures."

Undertaker didn't falter in his answer. "Of course. They already left. I believe they might be at the next stop by now, maybe you should check there."

Claude scowled. "If they really had been by here, then your shop's sign would be on the ground."

Undertaker scratched his head as if he was trying to remember. "Really? Then they must have not come by yet. I think the Reaper Princess stopped by earlier, so it might be her I'm thinking of. You know I'm as blind as a bat without my glasses."

Claude never broke his stoic stare. "Bats have other powerful senses such as smell and hearing. I know that you have a completely different side to your personality that you won't let anyone see. Why don't you just drop the act."

It was silent between the two for about a minute, then Undertaker tilted his head once more, revealing an eye that only a Reaper could have. "Alright then. You see, underneath my shop I have been working on a little project of mine. I was planning on releasing them tonight, but I can't with trick-or-treaters in the forest. They are a work in progress however and they need to be improved. Now I do trust that you won't go spreading this around, as I would like to keep it a secret for now. And as for me not longing to kill you..."

It was quiet for about another minute, then Undertaker tilted his head back up, and his hair covered his eyes once again. "Well, if that will be all, then I think you should start catching up with those children now."

Claude sighed. "I suppose you're right. Thank you for your cooperation, Undertaker."

He then opened the shop door and left. Undertaker waited a few minutes before he couldn't sense the Spider Demon's presence anymore, so he knocked on the lids of the four coffins. "Don't worry, he's gone now. You lot can come out."

Once the lids of the coffins were opened, everyone took a deep breath. "I thought I would never get out of there." Lizzie commented.

"Well, coffins do usually have that effect on people, especially when they're about to be buried alive." A chill suddenly ran down Lizzie's spine.

"Now, I suppose you all should be receiving what you all came here for."

The four of them were about to utter the magic words, when Undertaker stopped them. "Except this time, the price for candy will be different than that of the other spirits."

The group remembered when Hannah had told them about how some spirits wouldn't accept the usual words for candy. "In order to receive candy, you have to give me the gift of laughter."

"So all we have to do is make you laugh?" Sieglinde asked.

Undertaker nodded. "You have to make me laugh so hard that the shop's sign falls off."

The four exchanged looks with each other. "Uh, alright." Lizzie said.

The four of them huddled together in order to think of a plan. "So, what should we do?" Ciel asked.

"I don't know, let's just tell a joke and see if it works." Alois suggested.

"Yes, but what? Sieglinde asked.

"I don't know, but let's just try something." Lizzie said.

The huddle split up and Alois decided to go first. "Alright, here's my joke. What did one koala say to the other? I'm bear-y sorry that I finished the last jar of honey."

He waited for a reaction from Undertaker, but the mortician wouldn't budge. "Uh, you do realize that koalas aren't actually bears, right?" Sieglinde pointed out.

Alois only blinked. "They're not?"

Sieglinde shook her head. "No, they're marsupials."

"Oh, I did not know that."

After watching the girls' failed attempts, Ciel finally decided to crack. "Alright, I have an idea, but I do have some conditions." He turned to his friends. "You three must go outside, and no matter what happens, you must not peak. Got it?"

Three of them exchanged looks with each other. "Okay then."

Within the next minute, Alois, Sieglinde, and Lizzie were all outside, but one of them was having trouble containing their curiosity. "Come on, I just want to know what he's doing in there."

Sieglinde and Lizzie were both working together to hold Alois back and make sure he didn't pull on the curtains. "No, we can't peak inside. That was the deal!"

"But I just have to know! I want to make sure that he's having fun!"

"I'll bet he is, now stop it!"

With one pull, the girls were able to successfully pull him back. After that, he stopped all together. "Alright, fine, let's just wait."

Within the next minute, a huge amount of laughter was heard coming from inside the store, and they all had to step back because the sign fell off of the shop. After that, the three of them walked in only to see Undertaker, drunk on laughter with an exhausting looking Ciel. "What happened?" Alois asked, looking at the state his friend.

"Don't ask."

Undertaker had finally recovered from his laughing fit and started handing out candy. The group noticed as he held something else out, that didn't resemble candy. "If you eat these, you can hide your own presence so that you can be temporarily protected." He put them in each bag.

Lizzie smiled. "Thank you so much, Mr. Undertaker."

"Well of course. I have to do my part as well."

Soon, they had said their goodbyes and the group of friends had left. By now, they had pretty much figured out that Undertaker wasn't like the other forest creatures. They had heard all of his conversation with Claude, but they were too polite to ask about some of the things that the Spider Demon had mentioned.

Undertaker had an idea, but he didn't want it to be known about just yet. He figured that the trick-or-treaters wouldn't think much about it since it didn't concern them. The strange mortician started walking downstairs into the basement, wanting to continue with his little project.


	9. Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double

~Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double~

So now the group had figured out that there was a Spider Demon who was able to hide his presence just so they wouldn't find him. They had received information that he was planning to take them to the forest demon, so that he could devour their souls. They had eaten the candy that Undertaker had provided them with so that they could hide themselves, but they knew that it was only temporary, so they would have to hurry and get as far away from him as quickly as they could.

Nevertheless, their journey continued on as usual. However, something was about to happen. Something that would change the perceptions of how one group member saw the world forever. Unbeknownst to the group of friends, two spirits were up in the trees, watching them. One of them smirked, while the other one was just observing with a stoic expression. It wasn't long before Sieglinde was able to pick up their presence. She turned around and looked at the trees above.

"Our next stop is up there." The young witch pointed out.

The two spirits figured that it was time to make their entrance. One of them hopped off which caused the group to move out of the way so he could land, while the other one landed behind them, more gracefully. The spirits were two men who appeared to be the same age. One had white hair with some sort of ponytail, wearing a white guard outfit, while the other also had white hair, but without a ponytail, also wearing a white guard outfit. One had a smirk of confidence while the other held his stoic demeanor.

"Well, it seems you've finally managed to reach us. Allow us to introduce ourselves." The one with the ponytail said.

The two stood next to each other. "I am the courageous, risk taking sword fighter, Charles Grey."

The other one spoke. "And I am the more logical, perfectionist sword fighter, Charles Phipps, and together, the two of us make up the duo of Forest Guardians, The Double Charles."

Charles Grey raised his sword in the air. "That's right! The Double Charles are here! Now prepare for trouble, and make it double!"

That last part had Alois thinking. "Why do I feel like I've heard that phrase somewhere before?"

"Anyway, you can't leave without candy, and I don't settle for plain old words! to get candy, one of you has to beat me in a sword fighting match!"

The group tensed, but there was one who's tension practically skyrocketed. Charles Phipps only sighed. "Do you have to do this every year? Honestly, a few simple words would suffice."

Grey turned to him. "What? We can't make it to easy on them. There has to be a challenge somewhere."

"Yes, but do you know if there is anyone here who even knows how?"

Grey only smirked and turned back to the trick-or-treaters. Lizzie specifically. "I couldn't help but notice that you have a sword with you. Would you by any chance know how to fight with it?"

Her eyes widened, but she slowly nodded. "Y-Yes, I've been taking lessons since I was little."

When she was younger, Elizabeth was declared a genius at fencing, even more so than her older brother. She hated it, however, because she had fallen in love with cute things, and according to her, swords weren't cute at all. "Well then, I guess you wouldn't mind dueling me then, would you?"

Lizzie's eyes widened. "B-But swords and fighting are not cute at all! I want to remain a lady like my aunt had always taught me!"

Grey's smile faded, and he raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, let me tell you something. Getting your head ripped off or your neck broken isn't cute either."

Lizzie knew that there was truth in what he said, but she still would have preferred to stay a cute lady until the end. "The only way that you'll be getting candy is if you fight me and win."

Lizzie, knowing that she wasn't going to be able to change his mind, reluctantly nodded and agreed.

* * *

After Sieglinde had casted a light spell, providing everyone with the ability to see, the fight could commence. Charles Grey was getting himself ready, while Lizzie was feeling a bit apprehensive about all this. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" Sieglinde asked, concerned for her friend.

Lizzie nodded. "Yes, I know how to use a sword well, so I think I might have a shot at winning."

The young witch sighed. "If you say so. Good luck."

Lizzie smiled slightly. "Alright everybody, are you ready to start?" Grey asked, filled with energy and ready for action.

"Actually, I seem to recall you having left your sword in one of the trees nearby."

To confirm it, Grey looked at his sheath only to find that his sword wasn't there. "And you waited till just now to say something?"

"You never gave me the chance."

Grey only sighed and then hopped up to the top of the trees with ease. "But, we saw him pull his sword out earlier." Lizzie pointed out.

"Yes, I know that, I just had to get him to leave for a minute." He looked at Lizzie seriously. "You should already know that an advantage of winning is knowing your opponent's weakness. Grey is usually confident and collected, but there is one thing that will shake him. Although he already is one, he gets frightened by things he knows can do some damage, like ghosts and monsters. He gets startled easily by things that pop out at him. If you use that to your advantage, you just might win."

It took a second for Lizzie to absorb all the information, and once she did, she smiled. "Thank you so much Mr. Phipps."

The next thing anyone knew, Grey was already down from the trees. "I didn't see it up there."

"Oh, that's my fault. I had forgotten that it was actually right here and not in the trees." Phipps handed the sword off to Grey.

"Seriously?!"

A few minutes later, the fight was about to start. "Alright, here are the rules! No stabbing or slashing! The fight is over when one fighter is on the ground, face the face with the point of a sword! Competitors, get ready!"

Phipps waited for the two of them to draw their swords. "Three! Two! One! Begin!"

As soon as the match had started, Grey lunged over to Lizzie like a bullet. Fortunately, Lizzie saw it coming, and she was able to block it. Alois, Sieglinde, and Ciel were all cheering her on, helping her do her best. Grey and Lizzie had their swords locked. "I can't believe it. You're better with a sword than I thought. Let's just see you try to beat me."

He unlocked the swords and charged straight for her, but Lizzie jumped back and avoided it by blocking his sword again. "If all you're going to do is block, then this isn't going to be any fun."

He pulled the sword away and thrusted it towards her head, but luckily, she ducked in time. Phipps only sighed. "He tends to get carried away with these kind of things."

He raised his sword in the air, ready to bring it down on her, but she jumped out of the way in time. Fighting in a princess costume was definitely not easy, and now Lizzie knew that. Grey had stopped swinging for now and had stepped back. "Do you need to catch your breath?" He asked in a kind of taunting manner.

She didn't answer, but instead just breathed in and out and turned to her friends and Phipps. The rest of the group kept cheering their hearts out for her, but Phipps nodded in her direction, and she knew what that meant. As she looked over in Grey's direction, a look of absolute horror was present on her face. Grey then became a little concerned. "What?"

With a shaky breath, she slowly raised her hand and pointed behind him. He turned around and saw nothing but shadows. "I don't see anything." He said, nonchalantly.

"I-I-It's moving through the shadows! Can't you see it!"

Grey's eyes widened, but he tried not to let his fear show. "I-I don't believe in things like that. I only believe in things that I can use my sword on."

"B-But I can see it clearly!"

The rest of the group was watching the area she was referring to, looking for anything worthy of Lizzie reacting the way she was. They were sincerely hoping that Claude hadn't found them.

"T-There isn't anything there. There can't possibly be anything there." His voice was starting to falter.

However, the look that Lizzie was giving him meant that she wasn't kidding around. He turned back to the shadows and took a deep breath. "There is nothing there. It's just the shadows. Nothing is going to jump out at me."

Taking this opportunity, Lizzie took her sword's scabbard and tossed it, where it hit Grey on the back. He let out a loud, almost girlish shriek, and jumped back, causing him to fall back wards but he didn't care about that right now. The next thing he knew, he had come face to face with the point of a sword, and that was how everyone knew that the fight was over.

"I win." Lizzie said with a smile.

Grey only blinked. "...What?!"

"You heard her. She is the winner of this match. The game is over."

"But, but...Hey! She cheated!"

"I don't see how. She followed the rules. She didn't slice or stab you. She just won the match in a unique way." Phipps said.

"But- But...That was scary! I thought that a monster was going to come out and kill me!"

"Well, at least you had a sword. Besides, you may not have broken any rules, but you did come pretty close."

Grey only sighed in defeat. "Fine, I guess we should give out the candy now."

The rest of the group had gathered around Lizzie, asking her if she was alright and congratulating her on her victory. Sure, it was a sneaky, deceitful and underhanded, and they had never expected her to pull something like it, but it was a victory nonetheless. The Double Charles had started passing out candy, until they had given enough.

"As much as it still pains me to know that you've beaten me, you really are good. Have you ever considered becoming a sword fighter someday?"

"Well, I haven't really given much thought to my future."

Grey smiled. "Well, you should consider it. Except next time, try not to do anything sneaky like that."

Just then, something occurred to Grey. "Wait a second. How did you know that would work in the first place? No one knows about my weaknesses except-"

His eyes widened in realization and he turned to the other half of the Double Charles. "Of course I didn't tell her anything, she just figured it out on her own."

Grey narrowed his eyes at Phipps. "...Right."

Phipps turned to Lizzie and smiled a little, while putting a finger over his mouth, telling her to keep quiet. And finally it was time for the duo of forest guardians to take off. "Alright, we have to go to sparring practice right about now. We'll hopefully see you all some other time, if the demon doesn't get to you, that is. And Lizzie, you should really consider it."

Lizzie smiled. "Thank you Mr. Grey and Mr. Phipps."

The two of them super jumped to the trees. "Alright! The Double Charles are blasting off again!"

After the little fiasco was over, there was only one thing on Alois's mind. "Seriously, where have I heard these phrases before?"


	10. Refuge Inside A Luxurious Palace

~Refuge Inside A Luxurious Palace~

It had only been one night, and the gang had already seen so much. So much that was admittedly a little strange to be finding in a forest, unless it was one of those enchanted forests, like from fairytales. They had seen a huge stone tower. They had seen a mortician's shop. And they had even seen a third thing that probably just didn't come to mind right now. But as strange as this forest was, nothing could have prepared them for what they saw next.

Every single one of them had wide eyes and dropped jaws when they saw a huge palace, seemingly made out of gold. They probably would have been frozen like that forever, if not for the cold air that would actually freeze them. The palace seemed to resemble one that would come from India. "

Uh...should we go inside? Or knock?" Alois asked, still shocked by the fact that a luxurious palace had somehow ended up in the middle of a haunted forest.

"Um, maybe we should...knock?"

"But it's a palace, and I don't think people knock on palace doors." Sieglinde said.

Ciel approached the door, examining it further. "Wait a second, I think this is a doorbell."

The three others curiously approached to find out of what he was saying was true. "It does look like one." Sieglinde observed.

"Well, ring it." Lizzie insisted.

And so, Ciel pressed the button. However, as soon as he did, nothing happened. Well, not yet. A few seconds later, the golden front door of the palace opened, and invited them inside. However, it looked bigger on the inside than it did on the outside. The walls were made of gold and there was some sort of fountain in the middle. "I never imagined that we would see something like this out here." Alois commented in awe.

The light of the moon was shining through the skylight. None of them really knew why it needed one in the first place. "Come on Agni, we have trick-or-treaters this year!"

They could hear as a cheerful voice called from another room nearby. "Yes, of course, my Prince." Came another voice.

A few seconds later, two figures entered the room. One of them looked to be in his late teens and he had purple hair tied back into a ponytail. The other figure was a bit older than the first, and had long white hair. Both of them were wearing traditional clothes from India. "Welcome to the palace! I bet you all weren't expecting to see something like this in the middle of the forest!"

"Well, actually, we were a bit surprised at first." Alois answered.

The taller figure bowed. "Namaste-ji, everyone. This is Prince Soma Asman Kadar, the 26th son of the Raja of Bengal."

Well, now the rest of the group knew that this palace was authentically Indian. The Prince, Soma, smiled. "And this is my Khansama, Agni."

By examining the cheerful attitudes of the two, they were able to infer that they would be a couple of the happier spirits that they would be encountering before the night was over. "So, you have all made it this far! Good for you all. Just be careful that the demon doesn't steal your souls."

Ciel nodded. "Yes, we are already aware of that."

Now it was Lizzie's turn to ask a question. "Um, I was wondering. All throughout tonight, we have met a Werewolf, Grim Reapers, a Snake Charmer, and lost of other magical creatures. I don't mean to be rude, but just what might you two be?"

Soma and Agni exchanged knowing looks with each other, then Soma answered. "We're glad you asked."

The Prince snapped his fingers, and the next thing that anyone knew, an elephant appeared in the middle of the room. The group of trick-or-treaters had their eyes widened with surprise. "Yep, that's right! We're genies!"

"That is so cool! Is that actually a real elephant?" Sieglinde asked in excitement.

"Um, well, you see, the forest demon took away most of our powers, so all we can do is cast illusions." Agni explained.

Soma nodded. "I used to have plenty of real elephants, including an Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant...but he took it away." It was obvious by the tone in his voice that he was deflated by that fact.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Lizzie asked.

"It was only because he was afraid that we would rebel against him. Genies have a lot of magical power." Agni answered.

Soma's expression immediately brightened. "Anyway, that's all in the past. Let's focus on tonight. You all need candy to move on, right?"

The group nodded. "Alright then! There is just one little problem though." He said, nervously.

"And what might that be?" Ciel asked.

"Uh, you see, I kind of misplaced it. I didn't know if you would make it this far, so I kind of forgot where I left it." He laughed nervously, hooping that it might ease the tension.

Agni turned to Soma and smiled. "It will be alright, my prince. We will find it before the night ends."

"We could all help. Um, where exactly should we start looking?" Lizzie asked.

Soma had to think for a second. "Let's see...Maybe we could start in the basement. Isn't that where candy is normally kept?"

The group turned to the direction that Soma pointed. "Alright then, we'll check their first." Ciel said, seemingly unfazed by the fact that they had to look for their candy instead of just receiving it like normal trick-or-treaters.

The six of them walked down into the basement of the palace, which looked just as royal as the rest of the building. They had looked around for a few minutes and then coming up empty. "Well, I suppose that it isn't down here. Let's all go look somewhere else." Ciel suggested.

And they all went back upstairs to look elsewhere.

* * *

The group had eventually decided to split up, with Lizzie and Sieglinde searching on the second floor, Ciel and Alois searching the third floor, and Soma and Agni searching the first floor. The girls were having little success so far, but since they were alone, that gave them some time to talk about things. "Um, Sieglinde, what do you think about our chances of getting out of here?"

Sieglinde didn't know what to say, but nevertheless, she sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. We're doing alright so far, but there is no way of knowing how long it will last. Claude has noticed our presence and he'll most likely tell the demon. Also, we have no idea when the candy that Undertaker gave us will wear off. I just really hope that we can all get out of here safe and sound."

Lizzie sighed, then nodded. "I hope so as well."

The two of them kept on walking and checking rooms. The palace was pretty big, so searching through it would probably take a while. Lizzie sighed. "I hope that Ciel is at least having some form of fun."

Both of the girls knew how Ciel became stoic after his parents had died, and although Sieglinde had never seen it for herself, from the stories she had heard, Ciel used to be upbeat and cheerful, and he used to love having fun. But that was before, and now, things were different. "Um, Sieglinde, I'm going to tell you something, and I need you not to repeat it to anyone."

The young witch nodded. "Of course. What is it?"

Lizzie shifted her eyes down to the ground. "Um, you are aware that a nobleman's wife must be of a noble birth as well, do you not?"

Sieglinde nodded. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, Ciel, even though he is my cousin, he is also my betrothed."

Sieglinde's eyes widened a little, but nevertheless, her expression stayed pretty normal. "Really? I did not know that. Is that all you had to tell me?"

"No, I just realized that I had never told you that before. After Ciel had lost his parents, he mysteriously disappeared for a month. No one knew what happened, and neither did I. However, one day he came back, but he was different than the Ciel I knew. He had changed. Something felt really off. After he had returned, I saw a raven in the trees. This is probably irrelevant to the story, but even today, I still can't help but feel like it had some kind of connection to Ciel. I just couldn't put my finger on it."

Sieglinde had to take a second to think. "That's strange. I wonder where he could have disappeared to."

"Part of me would like to know, yet, I feel something deep inside that really doesn't want to know anything. Like it would be too horrible to fathom."

Sieglinde sighed. "Let's not think about this right now, okay? Let's just focus on finding the candy for now."

Lizzie nodded. "Alright."

* * *

Prince Soma eventually remembered that he left the candy in a room on the first floor, so they went and got it, alerting everyone that the search was now over. "Trick-or-treat!"

Soma and Agni happily passed out the candy, and once they were finished, Soma couldn't help but notice something about Ciel. "Hey, how come you don't smile?" He asked, curiously.

Ciel shrugged. "Because it's not necessary."

"B-But of course it's necessary!"

Alois put his arm around Ciel's shoulder. "I apologize, but my friend here isn't exactly the smiling type. It's nothing personal, he just doesn't like anything."

"Hey! Stop speaking for me!"

Suddenly, Soma snapped his fingers. "I have an idea. Before you leave, I'll make sure that Ciel smiles!"

Alois scoffed. "We've been trying to get him to smile for three years now. Trust me, nothing works."

"But isn't that one of the reasons why you're out here? To get him to smile and have fun?" Soma asked.

"Alright then, give it a shot." Alois said, wanting to see if he could do it.

Soma snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden, a trunk wrapped itself around him and lifted him up into the air. Ciel landed on the back of an elephant. "I thought you said that this was all an illusion!" Ciel yelled.

"It is! It is very realistic, however!"

The rest of the group watched as Ciel tried to figure out the elephant that he had no idea how to control. Lizzie had something on her mind, however. She had told Sieglinde something that she had never told anyone, not even Ciel or Alois. Over the past year that they had gotten to know each other, Sieglinde became Lizzie's best friend and the one she always went to for advice, and it worked the other way around as well.

She was sincerely hoping that Soma's attempts would work, but she also knew, deep down, that something had changed him. She wasn't sure what it was, and she wasn't sure that she would ever be. She had tried to get answers out of her cousin before, but he wouldn't talk about it. Ever since that day, something had been really wrong. Something in the air told her that her speculations were correct.

However, they had continued to live a normal life, and she was hoping that they could all keep it that way. There were so many things about him that her cousin that he just wouldn't reveal, and it made her feel bad that she couldn't help him. If that raven really did have anything to do with it, then she wondered what it's connection to Ciel might be.


	11. A Strange Harem

~A Strange Harem~

In the end, Ciel had to fake a smile to get out of that palace. He was actually very convincing because he was a pretty good actor, although the group wasn't counting it because it absolutely wasn't genuine. "I can't believe you did that!"

This was one of the few times that Lizzie actually felt furious, and she was furious with Ciel. He nodded. "Well, what should I have done? I don't know how to smile or have fun."

"You're not even trying!"

"As I have said before, having fun is not our biggest priority!"

Lizzie had never felt so angry in her life. Ciel was just lucky that he wasn't on the ground, begging for mercy. Alois and Sieglinde were sincerely hoping that she wouldn't explode, both figuratively and literally. "Lizzie, please lower your voice. You'll attract Claude to us." Alois warned.

"I don't care about that right now! I only want Ciel to be happy!"

Sieglinde had to put her hands around Lizzie's mouth to keep her quiet, but she still fought. Ciel sighed. "Look Lizzie, I'm sorry, but I can't-"

"Meow."

Ciel shook his head. "I can't smile even if I wanted to. I don't know-"

"Meooow." Ciel's eye twitched a little.

"I don't know how anymore. I apologize if-"

"Meooooooowww."

Ciel turned around. "WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT ALREADY!"

The group had finally noticed that they had arrived at their next stop. There was a group of six people. One of them was a man wearing traditional Chinese clothes, who looked like his eyes were closed. Around him, there were five girls in Chinese outfits. One of the girls was sitting with the man, a stoic expression on her face. They all had cat ears and tails. "Weeeell, I see you've finally made it. I thought we would have to wait another year."

Sieglinde took her hands off of Lizzie's mouth, and the group only stared. They could see the way that four of the girls practically wrapped themselves around him. "I suppose that none of you have ever seen cat spirits before." The cat in the middle speculated. "The forest demon loves cats, so he let's us live here whether we give him souls or not."

"Um...right." Ciel tried to move on in the conversation, despite how awkward the display before them was.

"We could hear you all yelling from a good distance away. Not smart since the Spider Demon could hear you. You all should really watch that from now on." Lizzie sighed and shifted her eyes to the ground. If Claude had found them again, she would most definitely be blaming herself. Sure, she was incredibly angry at Ciel, but that was no reason to drag their souls down into the den of a demon.

"Aaaanyway." He looked down at the girl sitting next to him. "Ran Mao, why don't you go and mingle for once."

The girl never changed her expression, but she got up and walked over to the group of trick-or-treaters. She stared at them. "Happy Halloween." She then walked back over and sat next to the man.

"She doesn't say a lot, but she is my little sister, although we're not related biologically."

The four of them decided that it was time for the words. "Trick-or-treat!"

The cat girls suddenly started passing out candy to everyone. "Miau!" The man smiled. "By the way, I'm Lau." Lizzie smiled. "Thank you so much Mr. Lau." And with that, they were off. However, as soon as they left, Lau's eyes opened just a tiny bit. The cat girls, except for Ran Mao, smiled. They all slinked off into the darkness.

* * *

Lizzie still would not talk to Ciel no matter how much he tried to get her to do so. She figured that giving him the silent treatment was better than yelling at him and telling Claude of their location. Ciel had eventually given up, and now, all was silent. Well, almost. Sieglinde could sense a presence behind them. "Everyone, stop."

The group complied and turned around. Suddenly, the cat girls from before appeared, using their feet to hang onto the trees. "We have come to mend your broken relationship, Miau." One of them said.

"Yes, we are matchmakers, Miau." Another said.

"I think they mean you two." Alois said, referring to Ciel and Lizzie.

Both Alois and Sieglinde got Ciel and Lizzie to stand together, while the cat girls tried to fix their arguing. The leader of the cat girls, Ran Mao, made her appearance. "We need to fix your relationship before the night ends, Miau."

Lizzie crossed her arms. "I don't want to make up with him."

She then tossed her head to the side. Ciel sighed. "Come on, Lizzie."

The girl wouldn't budge. Lizzie had never been like this towards her cousin before, so Alois and Sieglinde were actually wondering about what was going to happen. "Alright, what is the problem, Miau?"

"Well, you see, we stopped by Soma and Agni's palace and Prince Soma was attempting to make Ciel smile, however, he used a fake smile to get out, and now Lizzie is angry at him, because his smile wasn't genuine." Alois explained.

Elizabeth was too angry to even utter one word. "Alright, let's fix the problem, Miau."

Ciel's eye twitched. "Do you all say that at the end of every sentence?"

One of the cat girls shrugged. "We don't see anything wrong with it, Miau."

Ceil sighed. "It's annoying and I would appreciate if you would stop."

"Look here, this one has anger issues, Miau."

"I do not!"

"Aww, well, maybe that's the reason for this broken relationship, Miau."

"You don't know anything!"

"I wonder if we can fix it up, Miau."

"Knock it off!"

"He looks cute when he's angry, Miau."

"KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!"

Alois covered Ciel's mouth before he could scream anymore. "You are going to get us all killed if you two don't stop fighting. Just put up with it and let your broken relationship get fixed! Got it!" Alois, although he was usually laid back and upbeat, had never been more serious in his life. Ciel had never seen his friend in this state before, so he had no idea what he was capable of like this. He reluctantly sighed and agreed.

Ran Mao approached the two of them and she moved Ciel and Lizzie to where they where facing each other. Sieglinde and Alois wanted to know what she had planned. "Tell each other how you feel. Girl goes first."

Lizzie had to think for a second, so she could chose her words. "Ciel, all I want is for you to smile again. You used to before...Well, you know. But that was a really long time ago. I was sure that you might be back to your old self, but you haven't. You never smile anymore and I am out of ideas on what to do. I'm starting to give up entirely. I was thinking about giving up if this didn't work. I-I just want to help you. You never tell me anything, and I feel useless because of it. I just wish that you would open up to me some more. There are a lot of people around you who would be willing to help you, if you would just ask."

After she was done, Ran Mao turned to Ciel. "Alright, now you."

Ciel turned to Lizzie with the most sincere attitude he could muster. "Lizzie, I do understand that you want me to smile, and I know that you've heard this before, but I just don't know how anymore. However, that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate your efforts. You make everything better just by being here with your upbeat spirit. I don't know how I could live without you. Thank you for everything you do. And I do occasionally have fun every now and then, so you don't have to worry."

He then smiled at her, and she could tell that it was genuine. In that moment, she kind of felt like crying. "Oh Ciel! I'm so sorry!" She yelled as she wrapped her arms around her cousin.

He returned the hug. Alois and Sieglinde wanted to tell them to keep it down, but they just couldn't bring themselves to do it in this moment. "Well, it seems we've fixed the problem, Miau."

"Now these little lovebirds are back on track, Miau."

"We could call this a job well done, Miau."

Ciel was actually getting used to all off the meowing at the end. Ran Mao looked at the both of them and nodded. "Good, you've made up, now be careful."

Lizzie smiled and nodded. "We will. Thank you miss Ran Mao, and thank the rest of you as well."

Ciel smiled a little and the other two in the group were just happy that they had made up in the first place. "Well, now that all that is over with, we can finally move on." Alois said.

"Alright, let's hurry on to our next stop."

* * *

After that was over, the cat girls had all returned back to Lau. "So, did you fix their broken relationship?" He asked.

One of them nodded. "Yes, we did, Miau."

"They were so happy, Miau."

"That's good. Did you have fun tonight, Ran Mao?"

The cat girl in question didn't say anything, but she merely nodded. "Now all we have to do is wait till next year."

The cats were all looking at the moon in the sky, and they noticed that it wasn't yet at it's highest point yet. However, it was getting there, slowly but surely. Once it reach the highest point, the blood moon would appear and the Feast of Souls would begin. The demon would become more powerful if he consumed a tortured soul, however, that wasn't the only soul he would be consuming.

All of the tortured souls that had entered his forest, he had saved for an event like this. He would eat them all, and become even more powerful than he already was. As if he wasn't powerful enough already. The demon, however, had a thing for cats. He loved them, and would allow them in his forest no matter what. The cats were, no doubt, some of the luckiest creatures in the entire forest.

They had traveled all the way from China a few years back, a few years meaning 10,000. As to why Lau kept his strange harem around him, he really didn't have an answer. He just really loved having them around. Ran Mao, however, was different from the rest of them. She never talked unless Lau wanted her to, or unless she had something to say, which usually wasn't very often.

Lau opened his eyes a little, which usually meant that something interesting was about to happen. Usually, he had a light, airy tone surrounding him, but he occasionally had to get serious. Ran Mao just sat patiently, as well as the other cat girls, watching the moon. They could see the rabbit, making an elixir of immortality. Or it could have been moon cakes. The legends vary.

Now, all they had to do was wait patiently for the group of trick-or-treaters to reach the end. They could all pass the time somehow. Ran Mao looked down at the ground and noticed some sort of rock. She picked it up and started staring at it. Ran Mao could be incredibly weird sometimes, and Lau and the rest of the cat girl know this. The moon was getting higher and higher, and son, the rabbit would reach the very top.


	12. Circus Of Wonders

~Circus Of Wonders~

The trick-or-treaters were walking on their journey, when seemingly out of nowhere, music started playing. It sounded like the kind of music one would hear in a circus. Curiously, they approached the sound, and they came upon a clearing. They pushed past the trees and they could now see a humongous circus. Their eyes were widened at the sights of huge tents and performers everywhere, practicing their talents.

"This is the most people I've ever seen in one place." Lizzie commented in awe.

"Do you think we can get a seat?" Alois asked.

"Well of course. We are this years trick-or-treaters after all." Lizzie said.

"Come on, let's move." Ciel said.

The group started advancing towards the tent and soon, came upon a ticket booth. A woman stood there with a smile on her face. "Tickets, please."

The group, even though they knew they didn't have tickets, looked inside their pockets, and just happened to find some. No one had any idea as to how they ended up their in the first place, but they decided to just go with it, and they handed their tickets in. "Alright then, you'd better hurry, because the show is about to begin."

They immediately hurried off with Lizzie pulling on Ciel's arm and Alois and Sieglinde running along with them. Soon, they entered a huge tent. The inside was huge as well, with people looking for somewhere to sit. "Come on, let's go find our seats." Lizzie exclaimed enthusiastically.

The group had eventually found seats in the middle, near the aisle. About another minute of patiently waiting, the lights dimmed and the show was finally beginning. Some spotlights flicked on and revealed a group of people standing in the middle, with one standing dead centered. "Welcome, one and all, to the Noah's Ark Circus!" The ringleader, the one who spoke had orange colored hair that seemed to be in a ponytail, going in multiple different directions. He seemed to have skeleton hands, buth the group was sitting kind of far away, so they couldn't tell for sure.

"Tonight, yer all in for a surprise. Now, let's welcome our main cast!" A spotlight shone on the others of the group, and the rest of the cast was revealed. They even recognized one of them.

The crowd clapped and cheered, so they decided to do the same. "Our first act will be from our acrobats, Peter and Wendy!" The ringleader announced cheerfully.

The group looked up, only to find that the two younger ones of the group had already gotten to their places. They decided not to question how that was possible. The duo consisted of two younger kids, it seemed, a boy and a girl. And with one fell swoop from each of them, the two had grabbed their poles and were off. The group could not peel their eyes away. The two performers were pulling off one of the best acrobatic performances that they had ever seen. They seemed to work incredibly well together. Wendy had let go of her pole, only for Peter to flawlessly catch her.

Once their act had ended, Peter and Wendy had bowed to the audience, and a new member of the circus crew appeared. This one was rather huge and he seemed to have some sort of markings on his head and going down his arm. "And now, give it up fer our fire breather, Jumbo!"

The man picked lit a stick on fire, and then he put the flaming part in his mouth. The group was only a bit surprised, but it was a circus after all. The flames didn't seem to hurt him and when he took the stick out of his mouth, the fire had already been extinguished. However, once he breathed, the group was amazed as he seemed to actually breath fire. Well, anything was possible, it seemed, in this forest.

Once his act was over, the next one stepped up. This one, the group was able to recognize almost immediately. "And now, we have our snake charmer, Snake!" The first person who had ever greeted them on their expedition, along with his snakes, stood in the center of the ring.

The way that he charmed the snakes with such fines was awe inspiring. Some time had already passed, and Snake's act had ended. "Now, give out a round of applause fer our knife thrower, Dagger!"

A blond boy, seemingly in his late teens, appeared and held a bunch of knives in his hands. The group had just now noticed as Peter was now strapped to a table. Dagger took his aim and started throwing. The group was genuinely hoping that Peter wouldn't get hurt during any of it. However, they all had confidence that Dagger would be able to throw his knives without spilling a single drop of blood. He was quick though. Dagger threw his knives at breakneck speeds, and not a single one of them hit the person on the target. Peter didn't seem to be fazed at all.

After this act was over, a new person took his place. This one was a woman carrying a whip. "Our animal tamer, Beast!"

The group watched with interest as she seemed to dance with a gigantic tiger that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She was training the tiger to do all sorts of amazing things. Once the act was over, she stepped out of the ring, along with the tiger. "Up next, we have our fabulous Doll, the tightrope walker!"

A girl wearing a white dress with a white perm wig, covering her eye, was seen on the tightrope above them. The group did hope that she wouldn't fall, but they all highly doubted it. At first, Doll started out show, but she was feigning it, as within the next second, she was summersaulting across the rope at speeds that no one thought was even possible.

The act soon ended, and the ringmaster stood at the center once again. "Now, fer our last act of the night, we'll need some volunteers."

The spotlight seemed to move by itself, shining it's light on different members of the crowd. It wasn't till the light shone on the group of trick-or-treaters, however, that it stopped. "And it seem we have our volunteers. Please make yer way down into the ring."

The group complied and make their way to the center of the show. Once they had got there, they could see four carousel horses, which they hadn't noticed before. "Now if you'll each pick out a horse, we can begin."

Each one of them picked out the horse that they felt would best match their likes. They were also wondering what might happen. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, our final act of the night!"

The horses started floating up in the air, so the ones riding them held onto the poles that came out of their backs. The horses were levitating so high, that they went all the way up to the roof of the tent. Once they had stopped, the horses started moving like they would on a carousel. So far, it was pretty fun. All it was doing was spinning around. However, they started to notice as different colored giant bubbles rose to the ceiling.

Once they looked closer, they could see that the cast of the circus's first string were floating around inside their own individual bubbles. "Alright now, what are the magic words?" The ringleader asked.

The group smiled, and even Ciel did a little. "Trick-or-Treat!"

In the next few seconds, candy was flying through the air, so the group of friends all held their bags out and caught the candy inside of them. This particular experience really was something that would stick with them for as long as they could remember.

* * *

After they had left the circus, the trick-or-treaters were moving on to the next area. Sieglinde really had some time to think. Her thoughts instantly went back to the circus. It seemed familiar to her somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She tried really hard to think of why the circus was so familiar to her. "That's it!" She said aloud as the realization hit her.

The rest of them turned to her. "What is it?" Lizzie asked.

"Don't you guys remember? A little while after I had become friends with all of you, we went to a circus. Don't you remember what happened to it?"

The group had to think back. "I seem to recall that the circus was secretly kidnapping children, and it was burned down to a crisp." Alois recited from memory.

"Do you think it could be the same as the case with Madame Red?" Lizzie asked.

Sieglinde sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. This forest is strange. Either it's just a coincidence, or there really is something more."

Lizzie turned and looked at the sky. The moon was quickly climbing. "We'd better hurry and move on." She said.

Ciel nodded. "Yes, of course."

So they all complied and kept going. It seemed highly unlikely that they would figure out the full truth of this forest, but it was interesting to think about it. They had no idea what exactly was going to happen tonight, and they had just hoped that their candy hadn't worn off. The had also hoped that Claude wasn't watching them. Since he was able to disguise his presence, that made him more dangerous than any disagreeable spirits they might run into. Just thinking about Claude caused chills to run down their spines.

They tried moving quickly, so that they could get away. Chances were that if Claude wasn't watching them right now, he would be waiting for them at the next stop. Not knowing where he was, was scary. Still, they did have fun that night. The circus was incredible, and a memory that they would keep with them forever. The rest of the night had been fun as well. Rescuing a princess from a tower, meeting actual genies, and befriending a werewolf. Tonight contained many memories. They all were just hoping that they could continue to have memories like that.

Soon midnight would approach and the Feast of Souls would begin. A feast of tortured souls for the forest demon to gain more power. As if he didn't have enough already. With anymore power, he could probably take over the world or something. Things were already in motion, however, and they had no plan of escape before midnight. Everything was in the hands of the forest spirits, and it seemed to be up to them to decided whether or not the group of trick-or-treaters had their souls stolen.

They were all trustworthy though, but it seemed that their truly was nothing that they could do about it. They had all mentally decided that if they were going to have their souls stolen, then they would at least have as much fun as possible before then. A sense of dread was placed inside of each of them, however. They couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Darkness engulfed them and they had only the moon ton guide them to safety. It was the perfect scenario for a lost group of kind, about to be eaten by some sort of monster, like in story books. They were all paranoid, and they knew this, of course. A situation like this might soon cause anyone to lose their heads, but they were keeping it together quite well.

They were incredibly brave and smart, as most trick-or-treaters normally wouldn't be able to stand something like this. They had already been through so much together, and together, they would continue to grow, and hopefully, this escapade would be a useful experience.


End file.
